Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City and Mayor on 9/11 12 years ago, opened yesterday's Your World by lying about Benghazi on its one year anniversary.
Neil Cavuto began the discussion about Benghazi by saying the former Mayor was still “waiting for the response, waiting for the details. Still waiting, still waiting Mayor.”
Giuliani said:
I’m really surprised that it has been this long and we have so little information about Benghazi because the questions are glaring questions. …Why was the compound not protected before? I can see no legitimate explanation for why it wasn’t given more security. Why weren’t sufficient forces dispatched immediately? The answer is, ‘Well, they couldn’t get there in time,' but of course you don’t know that when you dispatch them. It says in an emergency, you dispatch them. You only find out 4 or 5 hours later they couldn’t get there on time. And why all of the attempts to button up these people and not let them talk until now apparently and so far it still hasn’t happened as they said it would?
Except that “Mr. 9/11” Giuliani didn’t quite have his facts straight. As Media Matters reported, earlier that day, journalist Samuel Katz told Fox & Friends, without being challenged, “Help did go to Benghazi, and I think one of the untold stories of the attack in Benghazi a year ago today, was the fact that when word hit the embassy in Tripoli, the CIA staffers, the contractors, as well as two JSOC operators didn’t hesitate for a moment. …They made it there under Libyan circumstances, as quickly as humanly possible. The embassy relentlessly tried to figure out transportation. They used a Libyan air force C-130, and at Benghazi airport, which was controlled by one of the militias, they were held up in Benghazi for 4 hours.”
Giuliani didn’t watch it, I’m guessing. And it’s doubtful anyone on Fox pointed it out to him because the segment happened to end almost immediately after Katz spoke. But you can watch it as the second video below.
Also not mentioned? That $300 million in embassy security was rejected by Republicans the year before.
’Nuff said.
Darrell Firebug Issa helps keep the “scandal” alive with eternal Congressional hearings that disclose nothing new. Issa has a fascination with burning buildings ever since his car alarm factory conveniently burned down years ago and left him a huge fire insurance settlement.
You wrote that you were one of those “liberal” New Yorkers. Now, given your attack on the memory of Ms Abzug, I’m guessing that you were using the term ironically. Also, I believe that you deliberately chose to ignore Giuliani’s “true colors” since the man had run in 1993 to “clean up” the city and he did it during his FIRST term (not sure where you thought it was “early in his second term”). As for his ties to Kerik, most of the “dirt” on Kerik didn’t emerge until YEARS after he’d been out of office. His divorce and how he handled it really had NOTHING to do with his performance as mayor (and the fact that the man had been married previously and had it annulled should’ve been a red flag).
And as to his “worst sin,” bear in mind that New York law PERMITTED his effort. Article III, Section 25 of the New York Constitution states,
“Notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution, the legislature, in order to insure continuity of state and local governmental operations in periods of emergency caused by enemy attack or by disasters (natural or otherwise), shall have the power and the immediate duty (1) to provide for prompt and temporary succession to the powers and duties of public offices, of whatever nature and whether filled by election or appointment, the incumbents of which may become unavailable for carrying on the powers and duties of such offices, and (2) to adopt such other measures as may be necessary and proper for insuring the continuity of governmental operations.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit in any way the power of the state to deal with emergencies arising from any cause."
His threats to the mayoral primary candidates notwithstanding, Giuliani did abide by the wishes of the State’s Assembly and Senate which found no extension was necessary and he did step down as required.
Well, as one of those “liberal” New Yorkers who voted for this jerk twice, my own reasons are probably best understood by those who share my jaded view of local politics.
We had suffered through four years of David Dinkins, the Democrat party hack chosen by the Harlem machine. Dinkins’ most noteworthy accomplishments as mayor probably were the tennis matches he won.
For Giuliani’s second win, he was facing Ruth Messenger, a screeching, knee jerk liberal from the same mold that produced Bella Abzug (anyone remember her).
But it wasn’t long into his second term that Rudy’s true colors emerged.
- He claimed to have cleaned up the city (still does), mainly by ordering thousands of police round up a small handful of mostly harmless squeegee men.
- He was much too close to convicted felon (and former Police Commissioner) Bernard Kerick
- He divorced his wife via the public media, before she knew about it.
- He was shameless in politicizing non political events, like the time he brought a campaigning George W. Bush to speak at the annual firefighters memorial ceremony (in the fall of 2010).
- His one moment of glory came about only by accident; he was caught by the cameras and microphones walking, somewhat dazed, north from Ground Zero. Giuliani collected his thoughts and spoke calmly. He got the world’s attention because Dubya was flying in the opposite direction, and Pataki the jerk Governor was cowering in an upstate basement. Rudy has never let a single day pass without reminding the world that he was (is?) 9/11’s Mayor.
- His worst sin, in my opinion, was trying to suspend New York laws and the constitution by extending his term because he felt Bloomberg wasn’t equipped to deal with the WTC aftermath so soon. No wonder many of us labeled him as Mayor Mussolini!
Do I regret voting for Giuliani twice? You bet I do!
As for Benghazi security, it’s hard to tell the real deal from Fox and nobody else is paying attention to Benghazi! for good reason, but Fox seems to have gotten copies of some correspondence from Stevens asking for more security.
I guess I’m kind of squeamish about blaming Stevens for this, so I may be a sitting duck for Fox agitprop about that one aspect of this.
https://twitter.com/NewsHoundEllen/status/378341778933301248
It’s remotely possible that a handful of extra good security guys might have saved Stevens’s life, but they couldn’t have stopped or repelled the RPG attack on the consulate or the mortars thrown at the CIA annex.
And how about that Donald Trump, who came after Giuliani on Greta’s show to offer his own “analysis” of Putin and Obama. She must have him on so often because her audience likes him, but my God, you’d think even Greta would see through him eventually.
And that, when that was brought up, they decided that shouldn’t be part of the investigation.
He said almost all of these people are undercover operatives who have long since gone back to work and are scattered all over the world, but that the committee has been able to interview — in secret because of their jobs — all but 2 or 3 of them.
He was utterly unperturbed about Benghazi! Benghazi! except to express some (justified IMO) criticism for the crappy security at the consulate.