Well he was in charge of a police force larger then most countries army's.
He was articulating the Islamist threat way before any pol I can think of. Way before 9/11. That was one of the reasons he kicked out Arafat despite the shrieks of the NYTimes.
His response to 9/11 despite what others say was heroic.
His speech following 9/11 slapping around the UN was fantastic.
Watching those buildings collapse around him and attending all those funerals....he more then any other pol knows the nature of the enemy...he’s qualified.
Good answer, Blackirish. As well, NYC’s economy is exceeded only by 6 or 7 states.
I heard Rudy on FNC a few weeks ago and in 60 seconds he articulated why the president is right about Iraq and why the Democrats are wrong better than anyone I’ve heard in 5 years.
He said something like: “Since when has a national party suggested giving the enemy a timetable for our withdrawal from the battlefield? It’s unheard of and unprecedented.”
Rudy is cool.
Most folks know that, I have no prob with him being president.
I do have problems with others applying a litmus test to those who support him. Its a free country last I looked, I’m not gonna change my support just to fit in.
“Watching those buildings collapse around him and attending all those funerals....he more then any other pol knows the nature of the enemy...he’s qualified.”
So what you’re saying, essentially, is that it all boils down to emotion. Not experience, not expertise, but rudy was there on 9/11, so that makes him qualified.
His response to 9-11 was heroic. What he did for NYC prior to 9-11 is another reason I respect him. I disagree with him on abortion, and as I recently learned, on gun control. However, I respect him immensely on how he handled NYC as Mayor before 9-11 and during 9-11.
No, Rudy was the elected Mayor. He was not in charge of the police force. That's what the Chief of Police is for.
His response to 9/11 despite what others say was heroic.
His response was nothing more than having Department Directors, Department Managers and Supervisors report to him the ACTION they took. He was merely the messenger. If you know anything about Emergency Management you know that is true.
His speech following 9/11 slapping around the UN was fantastic.
Talk is cheap.
he more then any other pol knows the nature of the enemy...he’s qualified.
I'm sure there are a lot of other responsible politicians and non-politicians that know much more about our enemies than Giuliani.
Daniel Pipes included Giuliani in his article about "ostriches" who denied domestic terrorism.
http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16926
Key excerpt: Law enforcement seems more concerned to avoid an anti-Muslim backlash than to find the culprits. This attitude of denial fits an all-too-common pattern. I have previously documented a reluctance in nearby New York City to see as terrorism the 1994 Brooklyn Bridge (“road rage” was the FBI’s preferred description) and the 1997 Empire State Building shootings (“many, many enemies in his mind,” said Rudolph Giuliani). Likewise, the July 2002 LAX murders were initially dismissed as “a work dispute” and the October 2002 rampage of the Beltway snipers went unexplained, leaving the media to ascribe it to such factors as a “stormy [family] relationship.”
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Here's more from Pipes on one of the pre-9/11 terrorist attacks on NY under Giuliani's watch (which he used as a platform to call for stricter national gun control):
Ali Hasan Abu Kamal, a Palestinian gunman hailing from militant Islamic circles in Florida, took a gun to the top of the Empire State building in February 1997 and shot a tourist there. His suicide note accused the United States of using Israel as its "instrument" against the Palestinians but city officials ignored this evidence and instead dismissed Abu Kamal as either "one deranged individual working on his own" (Police Commissioner Howard Safir) or a "man who had many, many enemies in his mind" (Mayor Rudolph Giuliani).
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0702/pipes1.asp
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Here's information on an earlier terrorist attack on NYC while Giuliani was mayor:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801E2DD113AF936A35750C0A962958260
Key excerpt: The Mayor's urgency to quash the widespread reports of a link between the shooting suspect and the well-known terrorist organization fit a pattern he established immediately after the Tuesday shootings. From the beginning, he personally took control of all briefings on the matter, often appearing with the Police Commissioner at his side, and took pains to dampen the rumors that might pit one ethnic group against another or raise the city's level of fear.
Even now, Mr. Giuliani and the Police Department have refused to discuss the question of a motive in the van shootings, which left one student brain-dead, another in poor condition and two others with less serious wounds. Though many Hasidim say they are certain the students were shot because they are Jews, the police say they have not determined the shooting was anti-Semitic.
Yesterday morning, Mr. Giuliani met for 40 minutes with a group of Arab restaurateurs, business owners and community leaders from Brooklyn. He told them that Arabs as a group should not be blamed for the shooting, and the Arab leaders put out a statement expressing condolences to the families of the victims and noting that Arabs were instrumental in contributing information that led to Mr. Baz's arrest.
*****
This particular attacker was linked to a hotbed of Brooklyn Islamofascism centered in Bay Ridge. But Giuliani didn't follow up to see if there was a wider pattern of Islamofascist attacks being planned/supported/funded there -- he treated the shooting as an isolated crime, tried to avoid admitting any links to terrorism, and met with leaders of Brooklyn's Arab community. Giuliani's record on Islamofascist attacks when he was in charge is not good.
Has nothing to do with terrorism, but he was the mayor, not the police chief. And when the police chief who accomplished most of the miracles Rudy took credit for got top billing in Time Magazine, Rudy fired him.
He was articulating the Islamist threat way before any pol I can think of. Way before 9/11. That was one of the reasons he kicked out Arafat despite the shrieks of the NYTimes.
I asked for facts. Point me to a speech he gave about the "islamist threat", and then explain how that speech prevented any deaths on 9/11. Tell me how kicking Arafat out of a theater stopped the terrorists from bombing our embassys, or solved the Israili/Palistinian crises, or prevented any terrorist attack. Don't just say "he's strong on terror". I already heard that, I want some proof.
His response to 9/11 despite what others say was heroic.
What did he do? He ran his city. He didn't personally run into the building and rescue people. He didn't put his own life in danger. He reacted well when you wanted him to react well.
Meanwhile, ordinary citizens were sacrificing their lives on a plane over Pennsylvania, firefighters and police were running up the stairs of a building doomed to collapse.
Donald Rumsfeld was running INTO the burning pentagon. Firefighters from all around DC were rushing to a place that could be hit again, to rescue people.
Sure, some people wouldn't have done so well, but he didn't really do anything. He did get on TV though.
Provide 3 specific examples of things Rudy did on 9/11 that were extraordinary either in bravery or in action. Should be easy for you. Again, I didn't ask you to repeat the assertions, I want facts. What did Rudy DO on 9/11 that showed him to be far above anybody else? What did he DO that was more than what any competent manager would do?
His speech following 9/11 slapping around the UN was fantastic.
Words are not deeds. A lot of people can say the right thing. I could make a speech that would run rings around Giuliani, and I'll never be presidential. A speech is not an act against terrorism. And everybody whose anybody can slap the UN around. What did he actually DO? What acts did he take that showed the terrorists wouldn't win?
Watching those buildings collapse around him and attending all those funerals....he more then any other pol knows the nature of the enemy...he’s qualified.
He saw the building collapse? We all saw the buildings collapse. That's the "he was there, so he is tough on terrorism" argument. In what way does watching the buildings collapse make him no more than "any other pol" the nature of the enemy? Romney doesn't understand? Gilmore (who was the Governor of the state in which the Pentagon was hit) doesn't understand? McCain doesn't understand the nature of the terrorist threat? What has Rudy done to show he knows the nature of the threat more than any other pol?
To summarise, he's strong on terror because he employed more cops than the next 4 cities combined just to get a 20% better crime rate, he kicked Arafat out of a theater in a pique of authoritarian rage, he watched the towers fall, and he made a good speech.
I'm sorry, but I am unimpressed.