Giuliani Quit Iraq Study Group To Pursue Lucrative Speaking Fees

by Todd Beeton, Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 12:05:31 PM EDT

Like a good Republican, Giuliani put his pursuit of personal wealth before the the nation's security.

From Newsday:

Giuliani left the Iraq Study Group last May after just two months...He cited "previous time commitments" in a letter explaining his decision to quit, and a look at his schedule suggests why -- the sessions at times conflicted with Giuliani's lucrative speaking tour that garnered him $11.4 million in 14 months.

Clearly Giuliani wanted a place on the panel to bolster his warrior facade but didn't want to have to do any work. Good for Baker for making Giuliani choose: "either attend the meetings or quit."

Josh's take:

That's the kind of story that ends a campaign, especially one like Rudy's based on standing up to terrorism and hanging tough in Iraq.

Giulilani's office writes statements:

"As someone considered a potential presidential candidate, the Mayor didn't want the group's work to become a political football.  That, coupled with time restraints led to his decision."

Yeah, Rudy would NEVER use war as a political football.

Tags: iraq study group, Rudy Giuliani, terrorism (all tags)

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9 Comments

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Campaign Ending?

This isn't a campaign ending revelation.  I don't even see why Marshall thinks it would be.  In all honesty, I don't see why this is a big deal.  I can understand preferring to make money over sitting on a commission to develop strategies for Iraq, and I think most people will understand it too.  After all, in the end, there is a pretty simple answer to what went wrong in Iraq:  this administration is a bunch of ignorant fuck ups.  

It would have been a better choice for Giuliani to not accept the appointment to the Study Group in the first place.  Would anyone be complaining in that case?

by Reece 2007-06-19 12:47PM | 0 recs
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Re: Campaign Ending?
By in large, I'm against leveling personal accusations against politicans because when it comes to the other side, we always seem to assume the worst. But in this case, I actually DO think this is a big deal.
Remember, Guiliani chose to be on this commission. In my opinion, when you commit to something, especially something of this magnitude, you better follow through on it. Its not like he was blowing off some little commission, this group was a huge deal. It seems like he accepted without really taking it seriously. Its not like he didnt know he was busy with speeches before he took the offer. I think this illustrates either poor prioritizing or poor personal judgement by Guiliani.
by AC4508 2007-06-19 02:21PM | 0 recs
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Re: Campaign Ending?

I agree that this is fair evidence that Giuliani may lack good judgement or is bad at setting priorities.  But I still think that as a "Gotcha!" item, it's pretty weak.

by Reece 2007-06-19 06:58PM | 0 recs
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Won't End Campaign

The media will give him a pass on this.

BUT - I hope every Dem candidate is keeping this info tight, in a general election they would need to bring this up again in a big way and hammer Rudy with it.

by dansac 2007-06-19 12:52PM | 0 recs
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Rudy has whored out 9/11 as bad as Bush

Both are guilty of using 9/11 for personal and political gain.  Both are scumbags.

Rudy is a shill in my opinion.  Nothing more.

by dpANDREWS 2007-06-19 01:07PM | 0 recs
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Re: Rudy has whored out 9/11 as bad as Bush
this is a brutal thing for Guliani to deal with, it will be interesting to see how his primary opponents play this, especially Mccain who needs to do something to stir things up.
by nevadadem 2007-06-19 01:11PM | 0 recs
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My letter to Newsday
You may have been reading Mayor Giuliani wrong when you attribute his
failure to attend any meetings of the Iraq Study Group and his eventual
resignation from the commission to his choice to make millions by giving
speeches instead of working for free to develop U.S. foreign policy. Perhaps
he isn't that mercenary.
    A more generous interpretation of his actions is that upon considering
the group's mandate, he realized that he knows nothing about foreign policy,
military affairs, or international relations, realized he had nothing to
contribute to the commission, and didn't want to embarrass himself. His
campaign statements on these topics so far bear out my analysis of his
behavior.
by joyful alternative 2007-06-19 02:01PM | 0 recs
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"That's in the hands of other people."

Last week Giuliani put forward his twelve top priorities without mentioning Iraq:

"Iraq may get better; Iraq may get worse. We may be successful in Iraq; we may not be. I don't know the answer to that. That's in the hands of other people."

Perhaps now we know who he meant. So much for decisive leadership.

by tommywonk 2007-06-19 02:58PM | 0 recs
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Yes, And No

Yes:

Giuliani Quit Iraq Study Group To Pursue Lucrative Speaking Fees

No:
Like a good Republican, Giuliani put his pursuit of personal wealth before the the nation's security.
Rudy actually helped national security by keeping his nose out of the ISG.  He's ignorant, he's a nutcase, and his massive ego would have only gotten in the way.

For once, his greed actually coincided with serving the public interest.

What a patriot!

by Paul Rosenberg 2007-06-20 04:14AM | 0 recs

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