I respect Rep. Ron Paul. In the debate in South Carolina last week Ron Paul dared to go where no politician has gone before - explaining the reasons for terrorism and specifically the horrific events of 9/11. Rather than speak in vague terms about terrorists hating freedom, and being envious of the Western world, Paul addressed the issue of security. Understanding that he was in a hawkish environment, it took Paul a lot of guts to state that U.S. policy in the Middle East is a major reason for terrorism today.
Rudy Giuliani, the political whore that he tends to be, proceeded to take offense to the comment even before Paul could explain the idea of 'blowback,'(read the book "Blowback" by Chalmers Johnson) which is basic common sense in the study of international relations. The theory basically states that a nation-states actions abroad can lead to unintended (many times detrimental) consequences both domestically and overseas. Instead, Giuliani barked to a roaring crowd about how he lived through the horrible events and that it was insulting to suggest such absurd things:
"As someone who lived through the attack of September 11, that we invited the attack because we were attacking Iraq; I don't think I've ever heard that before and I've heard some pretty absurd explanations for September 11.While Paul's statement wasn't really that "absurd," Giuliani gained major political points with the hard-nosed Americans who don't actually think or care about the repercussion of U.S. policy."
To me its just "absurd" that Giuliani calls himself a blue blooded American if he doesn't have the guts, energy, or desire to look in the mirror and truly investigate the causes of terrorism. It's time to move beyond the rhetoric and sound cuts and develop a real plan for eliminating terrorism in its present form. It is time for Giuliani to spend more time coming up with a sound foreign policy which recognizes basic theory of international relations, and less time tip toeing around social issues, and scoring political points off a man who really has something to say. I really wonder how long the "people's mayor" can truly live off of the "heroic leadership" he displayed during 9/11.
However, judging from a recent Gallup poll, Giuliani is still the front runner in the Republican field. Altough his numbers have dropped from a high of 44% in early March, to now 29% (as of May 14th), he is still seen by many as the strong candidate when it comes to security. This needs to change. A person that is strong on security has the ability to be not only decisive when deciding when to use military action, but also one that seeks to improve the geopolitical situation as well. Giuliani does not do the latter.
The link to an editorial on this issue is as follows:
Roland Martin: Paul's Explanation Deserves to be Debated
