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Why Giuliani Is the Scariest Possible Candidate
This post, written by Steve Benen, originally appeared on The Carpetbagger Report
Yesterday, speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition, Rudy Giuliani's bluster towards Iran was unrestrained. He almost seemed to be looking forward to a military confrontation, insisting without proof that Iran is currently building nuclear weapons and emphasizing that the "military option is not off the table."
Giuliani said every new American president prayed to avoid war, but accused Tehran of backing attacks on US troops in Iraq, and ruled out the notion of America learning to live with a nuclear Iran.
"We have seen what Iran will do with ordinary weapons," Giuliani told a forum of presidential candidates organized by the coalition.
If I am president of the United States, I guarantee you, we will never find out what they will do if they get nuclear weapons, because they are not going to get a nuclear weapon."The remarks were well received by the partisan audience, but they're a small reminder of why the public should be genuinely concerned about the prospect of a Giuliani presidency.
For those who can't watch the video online, Josh identifies Giuliani's top four advisors:
* Norman Podhoretz: The "Godfather of modernb neoconservatism," who believes America has to go to war with Iran as quickly as possible.
* Daniel Pipes: A man who has "a long and distinguished career of advocating war against every Arab and Muslim country in the world." He's also called for racial profiling of Muslim government employees in the United States, who, in true McCarthyite fashion, he believes may be a secret threat to the country.
* Thomas Joscelyn: Giuliani's terrorism advisor, Joscelyn has argued repeatedly that Saddam Hussein was connected to al Qaeda, and now believes Iran is connected to al Qaeda.
* Michael Rubin: Giuliani's Iran advisor, Rubin has been closely connected to Ahmad Chalibi, and signed on with Douglas Feith's Office of Special Plans in 2002. Rubin, too, has been aggressively for an Iranian invasion.
A very scary bunch, indeed.
Tagged as: iran, terrorism, election08, neoconservatives, giuliani, podhertz
Steve Benen is a freelance writer/researcher and creator of The Carpetbagger Report. In addition, he is the lead editor of Salon.com's Blog Report, and has been a contributor to Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Crooks & Liars, The American Prospect, and the Guardian.
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