Franks, Giuliani discuss war, Bush

Valley Press ^ | on Sunday, October 31, 2004. | DENNIS ANDERSON

[BenLurkin]

LOS ANGELES - Tommy Franks, the Army general who ran the liberation of Afghanistan from the Taliban, and the architect of the invasion of Iraq, wants people to vote their heart Tuesday. With election results in, then, "Let's go kill terrorists."

Franks took the stage this week with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and both gave an audience of thousands an earful on their experiences alongside President George W. Bush, and their opinions about the war on terror.

Into the weekend, both men were on the stump for Bush in battleground states such as Ohio. But in Southern California, the pair shared memories with a packed crowd at Staples Center. A dozen Palmdale Chamber of Commerce leaders traveled Tuesday to hear Franks, Giuliani and former Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who was taken POW during the invasion last year.

"We wanted to help people get motivated with examples of leadership," Chamber Executive Direct Isaac Barcelona said.

Lynch's memories of her injuries and captivity were brief, but she mounted the stage, aided by a cane, and urged, "Never give up." She said the soldiers who rescued her were her heroes.

Franks told the "Get Motivated" audience of business people that he is a registered independent and doesn't presume to tell people who to vote for.

"I don't care if you're Republican or Democrat," Franks said. "That ain't what this is about.

"Vote your heart. But when the voting is over, whoever wins, let's get out and kill terrorists."

Franks lauded Bush as the first president in 20 years to take the war to the terrorists instead of letting "America's sons and daughters" be targeted without firing back.

"America's sons and daughters have been being shot at in the 'No-Fly' Zone over Iraq for 10 years," Franks said, striding a stage littered with red, white and blue confetti. "I thought that had gone on just about long enough."

The retired four-star general who commanded the U.S. Central Command recounted testimony he gave to the 9-11 Commission. He said he was asked, "What could have been done to prevent the attacks?"

Franks told the non-partisan commission he was eager to share his views on why the World Trade Center and the Pentagon fell under attack that killed 3,000 people, "more than were killed at Pearl Harbor."

First, he responded the United States had chosen to do nothing in 1983 when terrorists in Beirut killed 241 Marines with a truck bomb. Next, he recounted the ill-fated American role in the humanitarian mission in Somalia, which he said "we left in disgrace" after Army Rangers and air crew were killed during the massive firefight recounted in "Black Hawk Down."

Franks identified Osama bin Laden as a player in the Somalia attacks and then tied him to participation in the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in east Africa that killed hundreds, and 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.

"The United States chose to do nothing," he said.

Franks said there isn't a partisan political problem about who allowed the terrorists to attack. He said it was crucial to understand that it was terrorist attacks on America that finally triggered the U.S. global war against terrorists. It's a war, he said, that spans Asia, Southwest Asia, Africa, Europe, the U.S. and Latin America.

"The United States did not go to war with Afghanistan," Franks said. "The United States went to war with the terrorists who had turned Afghanistan into a sanctuary, and who are trying to turn Iraq into a safe haven if we let them."

Appointed by President Bill Clinton to lead the Central Command in 1999, Franks said he became irritated by national media tagging him a "Clinton general." As President Bush entered office, Franks said his command advanced work on a special project - the elimination of Osama bin Laden.

Franks was enroute to Pakistan to confer with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on prospects for targeting bin Laden. Franks and his party were stopped in Crete for fuel, when he was called to the television and watched with millions of others worldwide as the World Trade Center towers came down.

If Bush was "obsessed with Iraq," Franks said he had no foreknowledge of that because the subject never came up until December 2001 after U.S. forces allied with Afghan fighters routed the Taliban.

Iraq, Franks said, was the next logical objective, with Saddam Hussein's persistent hostility and massive arsenal, even absent evidence of weapons of mass destruction.

"I have a lot of things that keep me up at night," Franks said. "The fact that Saddam Hussein is in jail isn't one of them."

Giuliani said President Bush's leadership demonstrates courage and the ability to distinguish good from evil.

He recounted Bush spending an hour longer than the Secret Service believed safe at Ground Zero, the danger being unbanked underground fires that threatened to collapse rubble.

Bush wouldn't leave while a group of construction workers "with arms the size of my legs" buttonholed the president to give him suggestions about what exactly to do to the Sept. 11 terrorists, Giuliani said.

"The president said, 'I agree!' " Giuliani recalled. A huge construction worker embraced Bush with such a bear hug that the Secret Service chief said, "If this guy hurts the president, you're finished, Giuliani!"

Giuliani said he protested, "Yes, but if he does (hurt Bush) … it will be with love!"

For the former New York mayor, the fear that has been a key component of both presidential races can help bring the American public to a healthy dose of reality about the dangers posed by extremists seeking weapons of mass destruction.

"Should we be afraid of terrorism?" he asked. "Of course. We have seen Sept. 11, Bali, Madrid, Russia … all those children killed by the terrorists. Terrible. … But fear can be good."

Fear can be good if it is managed, and that adds up to growing the courage required to face a relentless enemy, Giuliani said.

The terrorists, he said, "believe we are weak. The way we defeat them is not to be deterred from doing what we normally would do, our travel, our business."

In his parting moments with the audience of business people, Franks said he encountered an 82-year-old woman who had formulated the "exit strategy" from the war in Iraq.

"The exit strategy happens when we win," Franks said the lady told him. The costs, he said, will be counted "when we win."

Frank Fernandez, an Antelope Valley financial planner, said he didn't need a lot of advice about investing from the speakers, "but Gen. Franks and Giuliani made the whole trip worthwhile."

[tomnbeverly]

Tommy Franks is a leader on par with Patton and McArthur.

[Joann37]

Whiners campaign for Kerry; real leaders with courage campaign for President Bush.

[God luvs America]

Guiliani ripped kerri a new one this morning on Meet the Press...and did it using kerri's words/actions/deeds...it was easy!!