Iraq War Glaringly Missing among Rudy Giuliani's So-Called "Commitments"

When he unveiled his so-called 12 commitments yesterday in New Hampshire, Rudy Giuliani failed to make a commitment to the American people on the most pressing issue facing the country today: the Iraq War. When asked specifically about Iraq after his speech, Rudy Giuliani made no apology about omitting it and in an interview with MSNBC he said, "Iraq may get better, Iraq may get worse, we maybe successful in Iraq, we may not be. I don't know the answer to that." [MSNBC, 6/12/07, Concord Monitor, 6/13/07]

Not only has Giuliani refused to outline a plan for Iraq, he has also kept silent on President Bush's most recent plan for Iraq, which according to the AP envisions "a long-term U.S. troop presence in Iraq similar to the one in South Korea where American forces have helped keep an uneasy peace for more than 50 years." [AP, 5/31/07; CNN/WMUR/NH Union Leader Republican debate, 6/5/07]

"Rudy Giuliani's failure to offer a plan for the Iraq War is insulting to our troops and their families who have already sacrificed so much," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney. "Apparently Giuliani does not think that offering a plan to get our brave troops out of the civil war in Iraq is a priority. America deserves better than Rudy Giuliani's ongoing support for the President's failed strategies. The more Americans learn about Rudy Giuliani the more they will question his ability to lead the country."

RUDY GIULIANI: PROPOSES LONG TERM NATION-BUILDING; REPORTING MORE GOOD NEWS

Rudy Giuliani previously has said only that we have an obligation to stay in Iraq, and during the last Republican presidential debate clarified that to mean "nation building." He completely failed to answer what would happen if Generals announce that escalation is not working.

Giuliani Previously: Obligated to Stay

Giuliani Says US Has Obligation To Stay In Iraq: Giuliani said, " 'After defeating the enemy as we did in Iraq, after a sudden victory in deposing Saddam Hussein, we have a choice.' It was clear, he said, that America had an obligation to stay." [New York Times, 5/6/07]

Giuliani At Debate: Our Goal is Nation-Building

"Part of what we have to do and we haven't done right is take on that responsibility of nation-building. We created that responsibility for ourselves when we overthrew Saddam Hussein, which we did very effectively. It was one of the greatest military actions in American history, overthrowing Saddam Hussein. But we didn't accomplish the second step. People can only embrace democracy when they have an orderly existence. And we have to help provide that. We didn't want that role, but it is our role. ... And I'd just like to ask, I'd just like to ask one question I didn't get to ask before, when you said, if General Petraeus comes back in September and reports that things aren't going well, what are we going to do? But suppose General Petraeus comes back in September and reports that things are going pretty well. Are we going to report that with the same amount of attention that we would report the negative news?" [CNN/WMUR/NH Union Leader Republican debate, 6/5/07]