Rudy says we must not get fooled again, and fall for someone like Arafat. So, he says…let’s aid Fatah. Hard-nosed and unfoolable as ever, eh, Rudy?
“Giuliani Calls for Increasing American Support for Fatah,” by Marc Santora for the New York Times (thanks to WriterMom):
VIRGINIA BEACH, June 26 “” Rudolph W. Giuliani addressed Israeli-Palestinian discord on Tuesday, saying it was pointless for the United States to negotiate with Hamas, the Islamic group that has seized control of the Gaza Strip, and that Washington should work with Egypt and Jordan to bolster Fatah and its control over the West Bank.
As he advocated active American engagement, Mr. Giuliani urged caution and broadly criticized the Clinton administration’s approach in the 1990s, trying to broker peace with Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader.
“Let’s not become like starry romantics like we were with Arafat, where he was leading us down the primrose path and we were helping him get the Nobel Peace Prize,” Mr. Giuliani said in a speech here at Regent University, which Pat Robertson, the evangelist, founded.
Setting out a position that largely tracked Bush administration policy and the positions of Egypt, Israel and Jordan, Mr. Giuliani suggested that the best course was to bolster Fatah, which Mr. Arafat controlled until he died and is now run by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president.
“Let’s see if we can’t get Jordan and Egypt to help us try and create something with Abbas in the West Bank,” Mr. Giuliani said.
Hey, great idea, Rudy. You may recall that Jordan ruled the West Bank from 1948 to 1967, and there was no Palestinian nationalist movement then. Now, why was that?
More incisive analysis from Giuliani here. He’s missed a chance to explain what the war is, and what can be done to weaken the global jihad more effectively.
“Giuliani Slams Bill Clinton on Terrorism,” by Bob Lewis for The Associated Press:
In his comments Tuesday, Giuliani said Democrats would abandon Iraq while giving terrorists the U.S. “timetable for retreat.”
Giuliani remained aligned with President Bush in keeping U.S. forces in Iraq even as two more senior Senate Republicans Indiana’s Richard Lugar and Ohio’s George Voinovich in the past two days suggested the president’s policy is failing and said he should begin bringing troops home.
In his Rockville appearance, Giuliani compared the war in Iraq to the conflict between Hamas and Israel.
“What happened in Gaza is a microcosm of what’s going to happen in Baghdad” if the United States withdraws. “It will become something that inflames the entire region.”