Giuliani Notes: Rudy Delivers Citadel Commencement Address
Former New York Mayor and Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani gives the commencement address to the Citadel, Saturday, May 5, 2007, in Charleston, S.C.
AP: Giuliani envisions Army buildup
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani on Saturday called for boosting the Army by another 35,000 troops, saying the nation must project strength and better handle the aftermath of war.
“I believe America needs at least 10 new combat brigades above the additions that are already proposed by
President Bush and are already in the budget,” the former New York City mayor told a class of 438 cadets during a commencement speech at The Citadel, a public military college.Brigades typically have about 3,500 troops. The Army now has almost 512,000 troops, the limit set by Congress.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates in January recommended to Bush that the Army over the next five years increase its active-duty soldiers by 65,000 to 547,000. Giuliani would raise that limit to 582,000.
This seems like a prudent recommendation. But, the questions are:
- Mayor, how do you plan to pay for this?
- Cut spending? And cut what?
- Or raise taxes? And which tax?
Giuliani said the new brigades would reinforce the Army in places where they are needed most and help prevent other nations “from calculating that America may be stretched too thin.”
The Citadel, which gave Giuliani an honorary degree, is a cherished institution in South Carolina whose cadets once fired on Fort Sumter in nearby Charleston harbor, starting the Civil War. It also was the scene of a tumultuous fight over the admission of women to its corps more than a decade ago.
Giuliani won cheers from the cadets telling them the military needs more resources to get the job done and criticizing past practices of cutting military strength after wars.
“The idea of a peace dividend was always intellectually flawed. It was also strategically flawed,” he said. “We need to not only win the war, we have to win the peace as well.”
Former New York Mayor and Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani gives his autograph to Nash Creighton, of Richardson, Texas, after delivering the commencement address to The Citadel.
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Gary Johnson
Giuliani is betting 9/11 will propel him to the White House, so maybe it’s time people started taking a serious look at his actions before during and after:
1. Giuliani was responsible for locating the Mayor’s Emergency Command Center (known as “the bunker”) inside the World Trade Center complex. This was after the WTC had been attacked in 1993. The building, 7 World Trade Center, mysteriously collapsed on the afternoon of 9/11, despite what appeared to be only minor fire damage. At the very least, Rudy needs to explain why he located his command center in the middle of a known terror target.
2. Giuliani was responsible for halting search and rescue operations at Ground Zero, angering firefighters who were still searching for the remains of their comrades. A national firefighters group declined to invite Giuliani to speak. The Citadel should have done the same.
3. Tampering with evidence at a crime scene is a crime. Yet Giuliani oversaw the removal and destruction of valuable physical evidence such as the steel beams, treating it like so much scrap and hauling it away to be recycled. The 9/11 commission refused to call Giuliani to account for this action, but the media and the voters need to demand an explanation for such a serious lapse in protocol.
Flap
Dude, are you one of those 9/11 conspiracy nutters?
If not, all of this crap has been discussed and rehashed long ago.