Giuliani: "We had no domestic attacks under Bush"

[alexharvey]

WASHINGTON – Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani set off a tempest about terrorism Friday with his claim that this nation "had no domestic attacks" under President George W. Bush.

Giuliani somehow neglected to mention the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as he was contrasting President Barack Obama's handling of terrorism with that of Bush in light of the failed Christmas Day attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound flight. The Sept. 11 attacks toppled New York's World Trade Center, killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania and earned Giuliani accolades as "America's mayor."

The Republican said of Obama on ABC's "Good Morning America" that "what he should be doing is following the right things that Bush did."

While saying he believes Obama "turned the corner" on understanding the nature of terrorism when he publicly declared the U.S. at war, Giuliani added that Obama has plenty of room to improve on terrorism.

"We had no domestic attacks under Bush," Giuliani said. "We've had one under Obama."

That statement set off waves of protest in the blogosphere. And it echoed a recent claim by former Bush press secretary Dana Perino. GOP strategist Mary Matalin also recently said the Bush administration "inherited the most tragic attack on our soil in our nation's history," implying that the 9/11 attacks resulted from mistakes by the Clinton administration.

Bush replaced Clinton in the White House on Jan. 20, 2001, or almost eight months before the al-Qaida sponsored attacks.

When Giuliani was questioned later Friday about his statement, he explained to CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he misspoke.

"I usually say we had no domestic attacks, no major domestic attack under President Bush since Sept. 11," he said. He said after all the warnings of more attacks that came immediately after Sept. 11, many were surprised that this country avoided another major terrorist attack.

Giuliani said: "I did omit the words 'since Sept. 11.' I apologize for that."

Shoe bomber Richard Reid tried to bring down a trans-Atlantic flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001 using similar methods to the Christmas Day attempt. In both cases, quick action by courageous passengers and crew members helped avoid catastrophe.

Concerning Friday's interview, GMA's George Stephanopoulos said he should have asked Giuliani what he meant.

"All of you who have pointed out that I should have pressed him on that misstatement in the moment are right," he wrote on his blog. "My mistake, my responsibility."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100109/ap_ ... iani/print

[lerxstcat]

Well, there you go. Giuliani admitted right away that he forgot to say 3 crucial words that change the whole meaning of his sentence, and George Stephenopolous admitted that he should have caught it right there.

Probably, George understood what he MEANT to say and his mind filled in the words Giuliana failed to say.

Fairly big faux pas but it's not like he tried to defend his misstatement.

[pooldude]

"Forgetting" about 9/11...

Most experts are well aware of the Shoe Bomber from Dec 2001.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/25/ric ... nancygrace

Qualified terror officials would also remember the shootings @ LAX in 2002:

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/07/04/l ... .shooting/

Giuliani presents himself as a holier-than-thou Republican leader & "terror / security expert".

We're in one heck of a mess, & there's plenty of mistakes & blame to go around, on all sides...

...but Giuliani has proven himself as big a bald faced liar as anyone in politics.

[alexharvey]

Well, there you go. Giuliani admitted right away that he forgot to say 3 crucial words that change the whole meaning of his sentence, and George Stephenopolous admitted that he should have caught it right there.

Probably, George understood what he MEANT to say and his mind filled in the words Giuliana failed to say.

Fairly big faux pas but it's not like he tried to defend his misstatement.

There's no way that was a simple misstatement.

[NickasInSaltLick]

And once again the anthrax mailer is doomed to be forever ignored by amateur revisionist historians.

[vlad]

Ha! Giuliani forgot to mention 9/11?

Actually he isn't the first....I mentioned Dana Perino saying the exact same thing here on Sludge a bit ago. (edit: Dana was't on Sludge) She, too, said there were no terrorist attacks during Bush' Admin on Hannity's show, who, of course, did not correct her.

Coincidence? Or are righties just that forgetful? Which would be amazing, especially for Giuliani, who brought up 9/11 every chance possible. Or is it part of the new meme....yeah, like a political party would ever do that!

And Nick, thanks, I was going to mention the Anthrax attacks....

[lerxstcat]

Well, there you go. Giuliani admitted right away that he forgot to say 3 crucial words that change the whole meaning of his sentence, and George Stephenopolous admitted that he should have caught it right there.

Probably, George understood what he MEANT to say and his mind filled in the words Giuliana failed to say.

Fairly big faux pas but it's not like he tried to defend his misstatement.

There's no way that was a simple misstatement.

So is George Stephanopolous in cahoots with him for not jumping on him? Oh, I get it, THAT one was an innocent oversight. Come on, the fact that they both failed to catch it means they both had a brain fart.

[lerxstcat]

Ha! Giuliani forgot to mention 9/11?

Actually he isn't the first....I mentioned Dana Perino saying the exact same thing here on Sludge a bit ago. (edit: Dana was't on Sludge) She, too, said there were no terrorist attacks during Bush' Admin on Hannity's show, who, of course, did not correct her.

Coincidence? Or are righties just that forgetful? Which would be amazing, especially for Giuliani, who brought up 9/11 every chance possible. Or is it part of the new meme....yeah, like a political party would ever do that!

And Nick, thanks, I was going to mention the Anthrax attacks....

Okay, so you think George Stephanopolous is a double agent now too? Because he didn't say anything either. Although I do admit you might have a point if others are doing it too. Giuliani, I tend to think, may be distracted by his political life flashing before his eyes. He has basically bowed out of politics, at least directly.

[alexharvey]

So the fact that George Stephanopolous is a clueless hack means that Giuliani just made an innocent mistake? Sorry, I don't buy that.

[VinnieKulick]

Well, he also forgot to include Ft Hood. So, maybe he was leaving one out for both parties.

[ChowderheadCheerleader]

And once again the anthrax mailer is doomed to be forever ignored by amateur revisionist historians.

Well you can't say I forget.

I made deliveries to the underground caves in Kansas City that they "think" a large amount of anthrax may have passed through during that time.

I got very sick shortly thereafter. They claimed it was "contained" to the post office in there and no one outside was exposed to the contamination. Any one who has been in a cave complex knows most of them share a very large single air system.

I called bullshit after getting very sick and my doctor gave me Cipro and I *magically* got better afterward!

I did not make the connection until several months later though...

Call it a coincidence, if that's your opinion, it's not mine.

[VinnieKulick]

Well, he also forgot to include Ft Hood. So, maybe he was leaving one out for both parties.

Don't forget the George Tiller muder in 2009.

Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed in his church in Wichita, Kansas. Anti-abortion extremist Scott Roeder is in custody and charged with first-degree murder and two charges of aggravated assault.

Yep, him too!

[Ugmo]

Guiliani forgot to mention 9/11? Goddamn, there was a time when he never mentioned anything but 9/11!

[lerxstcat]

And once again the anthrax mailer is doomed to be forever ignored by amateur revisionist historians.

Well you can't say I forget.

I made deliveries to the underground caves in Kansas City that they "think" a large amount of anthrax may have passed through during that time.

I got very sick shortly thereafter. They claimed it was "contained" to the post office in there and no one outside was exposed to the contamination. Any one who has been in a cave complex knows most of them share a very large single air system.

I called bullshit after getting very sick and my doctor gave me Cipro and I *magically* got better afterward!

I did not make the connection until several months later though...

Call it a coincidence, if that's your opinion, it's not mine.

Funny how Cipro used to be the "antibiotic of last resort". the super-bug killer, back in 2001.

I was in the hospital in September for dehydration and kidney function issues, and they gave me Cipro for a normal UTI. Wonder what we have now for the last resort, if Cipro is now in common use?

[Crazy Levi]

Fuck Guliani.

People forget that NYC was sick of him and his atrocious comb overs when 9-11 happened.

The fact that he came off as calm and "in control" while our President and Vice President went missing bought him much goodwill. He didn't actually DO ANYTHING to earn the title of "captain 9-11", just like Bush didn't do anything to deserve his 90% approval rating, but hey god bless them both.

Just like Bush, he's spent the last decade squandering his ill-gotten gains. Now he's a has been and nobody likes him, especially the NYC Firefighters who have actively campaigned against him during his disastrous run for Pres.

[EvilMadman]

"We had no domestic attacks under Bush," Giuliani said. "We've had one under Obama."

There have been no major successful terrorist attacks in the U.S. during Obama's presidency. And there haven't been any large scale terrorist attacks during the Bush administration after 9-11. An attempt doesn't count as a successful attack.

[pooldude]

An attempt doesn't count as a successful attack.

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/07/04/l ... .shooting/

The Egyptian dude who shot & killed 2 & wounded 4 @ the El Al counter @ LAX in July of 2002 was pretty successful.

US officials tried to deny it was a terrorist action, & called it an isolated criminal act...but the Israeli's said otherwise.

[LuciferSanchez]

Guiliani forgot to mention 9/11? Goddamn, there was a time when he never mentioned anything but 9/11!

Wasn't there a phrase mention during campaigning by an opponate (sp) of Guiliani's speeches, "Noun, verb, 9/11".

I don't see how the failed attack on Christmas Day counts as a terrorist attack. With that logic, a failed Guiliant campaign for President counts as a presidential victory?

[Ugmo]

Guiliani forgot to mention 9/11? Goddamn, there was a time when he never mentioned anything but 9/11!

Wasn't there a phrase mention during campaigning by an opponate (sp) of Guiliani's speeches, "Noun, verb, 9/11".

I don't see how the failed attack on Christmas Day counts as a terrorist attack. With that logic, a failed Guiliant campaign for President counts as a presidential victory?

Joe Biden said that.

I think it counts as a terrorist attack, but by that definition there were a bunch of terrorist attacks under Bush. This is some revisionist history by the right.

[TravisBickelsMohawk]

Senility? Jesus, how else could you forget such a thing?

And these hack journalists need to be called out on their "deer in the headlights" responses when someone says such utter bullshit.

[Ugmo]

I don't think he forgot it. It makes sense that he meant there were no domestic attacks after 9/11, but it's still bullshit, because there were.