I think he showed his real character by telling the Shiek to take his ten million and shove it.... in other words, he will not be bought off and that is a good thing!
Following 9-11, I think most Americans would have told the Shiek where to stick his cash.
(source of quote: Little Green Footballs comments)
"I think he showed his real character by telling the Shiek to take his ten million and shove it.... "
I have a different take on that.
First off, don't take this as a big defense of Saudi Arabia. I think their inability to solve their internal problems causes the whole world difficulties.
The way I see it, the crown prince of SA extended a sincere offer of help. He is no saint, but then he is no Al Qaeda supporter either. He has immense problems keeping them from destabilizing his own country. Instead of handling it quietly and diplomatically, Rudi publicly shamed the man in front of the whole world.
All Americans were upset with anyone Arab immediately after 9/11. Everyone from the middle east was lumped together and seen as a bitter enemy. But by taking his actions, Rudi did more damage than you might suspect. He dissed the crown prince (now King) of a 60 year ally. An ally who kept our oil prices low and economy stable for decades. One of our few friends in the region. We are no longer such close friends with Saudi Arabia. Our oil is more expensive, and our supply is at risk. Each and every one of us pays thousands of dollars more per year in gasoline and heating fuel. The price of anything shipped (which is everything) is higher too. The possibility of SA allying themselves with a future enemy of ours is great. We can no longer use their military bases whenever we please. They would have come in quite handy when invading Afganistan and Iraq. Billions were spent acquiring alternate staging areas from countries such as Pakistan. What else did we give them to cut a deal? Soldiers also had further to deploy and were at much greater risk. Saddam knew that SA would not support us and that gave him a degree of strategic advantage. You know as well as I that a significant number of our soldiers died because of these conditions. Thats right. Soldiers died because we lost a strategic ally.
There is also the matter that other nations know that SA will not support us. This limits our actions when confronting countries such as Iran. Any oil interruption in the middle east would cripple our country. They can thumb their noses at us and wave nukes all they want. We won't do anything.
I think that Rudi acted rashly and without regard for facts or future consequences. Rudi did all of this when he was a mere mayor. Just imagine the damage he could do as president.
When I see Rudi Giulianni, I see my high fuel bills and the faces of dead soldiers. I can say with absolute certainty that I will not vote for him.