When the Iraq Study Group was initially formed, Bush tapped Rudy Giuliani for one of the Republican seats. Two months later, the former NYC mayor quit the ISG. What happened there?
Apparently, Giuliani had some money to make.
Rudolph Giuliani’s membership on an elite Iraq study panel came to an abrupt end last spring after he failed to show up for a single official meeting of the group, causing the panel’s top Republican to give him a stark choice: either attend the meetings or quit, several sources said.
Giuliani left the Iraq Study Group last May after just two months, walking away from a chance to make up for his lack of foreign policy credentials on the top issue in the 2008 race, the Iraq war.
He cited “previous time commitments” in a letter explaining his decision to quit, and a look at his schedule suggests why – the sessions at times conflicted with Giuliani’s lucrative speaking tour that garnered him $11.4 million in 14 months.
Giuliani failed to show up for a pair of two-day sessions that occurred during his tenure, the sources said – and both times, they conflicted with paid public appearances shown on his recent financial disclosure. Giuliani quit the group during his busiest stretch in 2006, when he gave 20 speeches in a single month that brought in $1.7 million.
Asked about what work, if any, Giuliani did with the Iraq Study Group, the former mayor’s campaign said Giuliani did participate in ISG activities — but refused to explain how.
Now, I don’t begrudge Giuliani cashing in on his celebrity on the speaking circuit. Indeed, that seems like a good gig for him — fawning audiences, big money, minimal substance, little chance he’ll do any harm. No fuss, no muss.
But Giuliani, who probably had presidential aspirations at the time, may not realize what a mistake he made by blowing the ISG off.
Sure, it was a mistake to join the group and then fail to do any work. And sure it’s not exactly encouraging to see a presidential candidate prefer cashing in to meaningful public service on the nation’s most pressing crisis.
But looking beyond this, Giuliani should have stayed with the ISG so he could learn what the hell he’s talking about.
Just last week, asked about the future of the policy in Iraq, Giuliani said, “Iraq may get better; Iraq may get worse. We may be successful in Iraq; we may not be. I don’t know the answer to that. That’s in the hands of other people.” It came after we learned Giuliani is confused about the attack on USS Cole, he’s confused about the Fort Dix plot, he doesn’t know the difference between Iran’s and North Korea’s nuclear programs, and he has no idea whether Iran and al Qaeda are Sunni or Shia. Asked recently for his thoughts on the efficacy of the president’s escalation strategy in Iraq, Giuliani said, “I don’t know the answer to that.”
Giuliani had a chance to become something of an expert on Iraq. In a presidential campaign, he could have had real experience to point to. Instead he gave vapid speeches for big bucks.
Stephen Hess, who has served as an adviser to presidents from both parties, said quitting the group is likely to pose a political problem for Giuliani. “Leaving that study group was not exactly an act of courage,” said Hess, particularly because the group’s recommendations ultimately diverged from Bush’s stick-it-out approach, which Giuliani has embraced.
A missed opportunity, to be sure.