Giuliani is Mideast's worst nightmare

By Linda S. Heard, Special to Gulf News
Published: October 29, 2007, 23:51

President George W. Bush's approval ratings may be in the doldrums and he's
only got just over another year to go, but before we order the celebratory
fireworks here's a thought. The next American president could make this one
look like a boy scout.

As the months pass, the next election looks like a race between Democrat
Hillary Clinton and the former mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani for the
Republicans. I'm no fan of the coolly calculating Clinton but given the
alternative, she's the one I'll be rooting for.

At the same time, I have serious doubts as to whether certain American
states are ready for a woman president and although the American voters have
shown they're fed up with Republicans they may reluctantly settle for the
usual middle-aged white man over a former First Lady, no matter how bright
and formidable she may be.

But here's the problem. Whereas post 9-11 Giuliani was generally considered
a competent, nice-guy keen to roll up his sleeves in order to put his city
to rights, in recent months the mask has come off. In short, Giuliani is no
benign patriotic do-gooder. He's a hawkish, sabre-rattling, pro-Israel,
nationalistic neocon.

A clue to Giuliani's leanings emerged during the visit of Prince Al Walid
Bin Talal to Ground Zero in October 2001. Bearing a $10 million donation for
disaster relief, the Saudi prince suggested the US reexamine its Middle East
policies and adopt a balanced stance towards Palestinian aspirations.
Giuliani's response was to hand back the cheque.

Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards has joked President Giuliani
would be like President Bush on steroids. Unfortunately, this is no joke.

Giuliani makes no bones about the fact he would use military force to
set-back Iran's nuclear programme. In September, he promised to use
America's military might to prevent Iran pursuing its nuclear ambitions
should he be elected president.

His senior foreign policy adviser Norman Podhoretz has spelled out this
message, advising that Iran be bombed with cruise missiles and bunker
busters. "None of the alternatives to military action - negotiations,
sanctions, provoking an internal insurrection - can possibly work," he told
*The Daily Telegraph.*

Giuliani is talking tough when it comes to Pakistan, too. He recently urged
the president to be more aggressive in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden within
Pakistan even if such a move would result in alienating the Pakistani
government.

On Iraq, Giuliani has been consistently gung ho. He supported the war from
the outset, backed the so-called surge and believes American troops should
stay in Iraq for the foreseeable future.

And if my worst fears are realised and Giuliani moves into the White House
there will be no Palestinian state for the foreseeable future either. He has
declared in no uncertain terms his antipathy towards a two-state solution
because a Palestinian entity would "support terrorism" and threaten US
security.

*Worth recalling*

It's also worth recalling that in 1995, he banned the former Palestinian
president Yasser Arafat from attending events held in New York to celebrate
the UN's 50th anniversary and ordered his removal from a concert held at the
Lincoln Centre. It's not surprising that a panel of eight Israeli experts
assembled by the daily Ha'aretz determined Giuliani is the best presidential
candidate for Israel.

A recent article on the front page of the New York Times titled "Mid-east
hawks help to develop Giuliani's policy" enlightens us as to the former
mayor's new best friends. "Mr Giuliani is consulting with, among others, a
particularly hawkish group of advisers and neoconservative thinkers," the
article reads.

His team, says the article, includes "Norman Podhoretz, a prominent
neoconservative who advocates bombing Iran as soon as it is logically
possible; Daniel Pipes, the director of the Middle East Forum, who has
called for profiling Muslims at airports and scrutinising American Muslims
in law enforcement, the military and the diplomatic corps; and Michael Rubin
who has written in favour of revoking the United States' ban on
assassination" .

Giuliani recently took the Democrats to task for avoiding use of the term
"Islamic terrorism" during four debates; an omission he describes as taking
political correctness to extremes.

A Giuliani presidential tenure would also be extremely bad news for
Americans who value the few civil liberties they have left. He strongly
backs the controversial Patriot Act; is an advocate for wire-tapping and
domestic spying, and isn't sure whether "water-boarding" or sleep
deprivation should be considered as "torture".

He has also promised to appoint "strict constructionist" judges to the
Supreme Court to allay the fears of conservative Republicans and the
religious right that he is pro-abortion.

As things stand, Clinton holds a small tenuous lead over Giuliani in the
polls overall. But in some of the states that count, such as Florida, the
latter is ahead. Giuliani is also grabbing a large chunk of the evangelical
vote despite his penchant for divorcing his wives for girlfriends.

These already dangerous times are becoming even more dangerous. It's a pity
that Nobel Peace Prize recipient Al Gore has refused to put his crusade
against climate change on hold to join the fray and perhaps even save the
day.

We can only stand by helplessly as the American people decide their fate and
ours. With the future of the planet in their hands it's time they made the
right choice.

*Linda S. Heard is a specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She can be
contacted at lheard@gulfnews. com.*