Yesterday, The Body Politik noted that while former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani portrays himself as an expert on terrorism, his actual statements and policy judgments usually reveal his ignorance. Today, Josh Marshall notes that Rudy Giuliani has hired “Michael Rubin as Senior Iran and Turkey Advisor and Middle East Advisory Board Member.”

Rubin worked at “Doug Feith’s Office of Special Plans” and “like the most interesting and frightening neos, Michael is that perfect mix of extreme factual knowledge and extreme lack of judgment, prone to wild-eyed theories and fantasies of various sorts but all in the end leading inexorably toward catastrophic policy moves for the United States.” Below is a sampling of Rubin’s greatest hits:

- IRAQ: “The question with Iraq is not whether they were involved on Sept. 11. The question with Iraq is, do we think they have the capacity, the will and the means to create mass casualties in the United States. I think they do. The evidence shows they do. And then the issue is, why should we wait and sacrifice another 5,000 innocent lives?” [10/24/01 Yale Daily News]

- “September 11 has helped to persuade the region that the United States isn’t going to take it anymore. Even onerous regimes are eager or willing to be part of the U.S. coalition against Usama bin Ladin’s terrorism. Under resolute U.S. leadership, some of this spirit could be mobilized against Iraq.… [Ankara, Amman, Kuwait City, and Riyadh] want to see a plan that is focused, determined, and close-ended. If the United States can produce one, its regional allies will fall into line.”[Winter/02, Middle East Quarterly]

- “The Kurds themselves, many of them patriotic veterans of the Iraqi Army do not wish to split from Iraq; they do want a federal, unified and democratic Iraq. Their only problem is with Saddam Husayn himself. Until he is removed, nothing can proceed.” [ 7/10/01, Middle East Forum]

- The New York Times reports that Rubin advised The Lincoln Group, a Pentagon contractor that paid Iraqi newspapers to print American propaganda, on the content of the propaganda campaign in Iraq. [1/2/06, NYT]

- IRAN: “U.S. and Iranian interests in Iraq are diametrically opposed, and will continue to be until one side wins and the other loses.” Diplomacy with Iran is “a mirage, a tactical tool to divert U.S. policy attention away from the Revolutionary Guards and intelligence officials charged with implementing the Iranian leadership’s objectives…For the U.S. government to succeed in Iraq, it must engage not with the illusion of Iranian policy, but refine its strategies to neutralize and counter the Iranian strategies.” [8/09/07, Washington Post]

- “In the wake of Sadr’s uprising, Washington is faced with the same choice: End Iran’s infiltration through forceful action, or wish it away. How long can we afford to keep choosing the latter?“ [4/26/04, New Republic]

- ISLAMIC WORLD: “In the Islamic world, confrontation may work better than dialogue. As the Taliban were driven from Kabul, Afghans spontaneously celebrated, cheering America in the streets…Washington should not negotiate with rogue regimes, at least not until they move beyond mere rhetoric and unilaterally cease all weapons proliferation and terror sponsorship without precondition.” [12/12/01, Opinion Journal]

- REGIME CHANGE IN SYRIA: The Asia Times reported that Michael Rubin and the usual neo-con suspects “signed a report released three years ago that called for using military force to disarm Syria of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and to end its military presence in Lebanon.” [4/17/03, Asia Times]

By recruiting hard line neo-conservatives, Giuliani is tacitly endorsing the failed foreign policy of the Bush administration. If the war on terror and the war in Iraq have radicalized jihadists and increased the terror threat, Giuliani’s willingness to pursue a confrontational and militant foreign policy– possibly extending the war to Iran– would jeopardize American safety and security.

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