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Giuliani Campaign Press Release - Giuliani Ad Facts: "One Hour"

December 05, 2007

AD FACT:

MAYOR GIULIANI: "I remember back to the 1970s and the early 1980s. Iranian mullahs took American hostages and they held the American hostages for 444 days."

BACKGROUND:

American Hostages Were Held In Iran For 444 Days. "On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran and took approximately seventy Americans captive. This terrorist act triggered the most profound crisis of the Carter presidency and began a personal ordeal for Jimmy Carter and the American people that lasted 444 days." (The Jimmy Carter Library & Museum Website, http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/[ APP: broken link] documents/hostages.phtml, Accessed 11/11/07)

AD FACT:

Mayor Giuliani: "And they released the American hostages in one hour, and that should tell us a lot about these Islamic terrorists that we're facing. The one hour in which they released them was the one hour in which Ronald Reagan was taking the Oath of Office as President of the United States."

BACKGROUND:

Hostages Were Released Within Hour Of Ronald Reagan Being Inaugurated As President. "President Reagan announced today the long-sought goal of his predecessor: that 52 American citizens, hostages in Tehran for an agonizing 14 1/2 months, 'are now free of Iran.' 'We can all drink to this one,' he said. … In a toast to congressional leaders just two hours after he succeeded [sic] Carter, Reagan raised his glass of California wine and said: 'And now to conclude … with thanks to almighty God. I have been given a tagline, the get-off line that everyone wants for the end of a toast or a speech or anything else: 'Some 30 minutes ago, the planes bearing our prisoners left Iranian air space and they're now free of Iran." (The Associated Press, 1/20/81)

· "On His Way To A Luncheon In The Capitol, Reagan Was Asked About The Hostages. 'Let's Wait Until They Get Out Of That Iranian Airspace,' Reagan Said. But A Few Minutes Later He Confirmed That The First Plane Carrying The Hostages Left Tehran At 12:33 P.M. EST — Barely More Than A Half Hour Into His Presidency." (Walter R. Mears, "Reagan Crowns Quest For Presidency," The Associated Press, 1/20/81)

AD FACT:

MAYOR GIULIANI: "The best way you deal with dictators, the best way you deal with tyrants and terrorists, you stand up to them. You don't back down. I'm Rudy Giuliani and I approve this message."

BACKGROUND:

EXPERTS SAY WE MUST REMAIN ON OFFENSE TO DEFEAT TERRORISTS

Military Expert Ralph Peters: "The Best Defense Is A Strong Offense. We Cannot Wait At Home For Terrorists To Strike. We Must Not Waver From The Current Policy Of Taking The War To Our Enemies. The Moment We Falter, Our Enemies Will Bring The War Back To Us." (Ralph Peters, Op-Ed, "Comforting The Enemy," New York Post, 3/25/04)

Terrorism Expert Steve Emerson: "The Best Defense Is A Good Offense. We Need To Basically Be Interrupting The Terrorists On Their Own Turf. That's The Best Protection We Can Do To Protect Ourselves Here." (MSNBC's "Hardball," 10/25/02)

Foundation For The Defense Of Democracies President Cliff May: "The U.S. Has Not Always Responded Seriously When People Said They Wanted To Kill Us. One Of The Simple Lessons Of Sept. 11 Is That We Don't Wait For Terrorists Who Say They Are Going To Kill Us To Do Something And Then Punish Them. We Take Them To War." (Marc Sandalow, "Is Bush Consistent Or Doing An About-Face?" San Francisco Chronicle, 6/30/05)

SOVIETS BACKED DOWN AFTER REAGAN REFUSED TO GIVE UP MISSILE DEFENSE

At 1986 Reykjavik Talks With Gorbachev, President Reagan Was Prepared To Abandon Talks If Gorbachev Would Not Agree To Strategic Defense Initiative. "President Reagan was genial, yet tied tightly to his convictions. Gorbachev arrived at the 1986 summit in Reykjavik prepared to offer whatever cuts in Soviet weapons it would take to convince President Reagan to drop the Strategic Defense Initiative. To Ronald Reagan, SDI--safeguarding America from nuclear attack--was a core principle. He was ready to walk away from an arms deal rather than capitulate. And walk away he did." (Ed Meese, Op-Ed, "At His Side," National Review, 6/28/04)

After Soviets Refused To Agree To SDI, Reagan Walked Away From Talks. "Congressional Democrats say the failure of the arms talks in [Reykjavik,] Iceland gives them new ammunition to fight President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative and could help them pick up seats in next month's elections. But Republicans are applauding Reagan's decision to walk away from a Soviet 'trap,' and saying the Soviets' eagerness to scuttle the space-based anti-missile system shows just how important it could be to the defense of the United States. … But Rep. Jack Kemp, R-N.Y., an SDI stalwart, expressed relief that Reagan 'walked away from an agreement that violated one of his highest goals, the development of a strategic defense for ourselves and our allies.' 'The Soviets are going to have to come back to the table,' Kemp predicted." (Christopher Connell, The Associated Press, 10/13/86)

In 1988, United States And Soviet Union Reached Arms Agreement Including "Wide-Ranging Testing" Of SDI. "A senior Soviet official says Moscow is willing to accept wide-ranging testing of the U.S. 'Star Wars' space defense system to spur the signing of a strategic arms agreement. The official, who spoke Thursday on condition he not be identified or directly quoted, said he believed it is possible to reach an agreement cutting strategic nuclear arsenals by 50 percent in time for the Moscow summit, expected at the end of May. In a rare glimpse of senior Soviet thinking, the official emphasized his belief U.S.-Soviet relations had moved from an era of worldwide confrontation to one of seriously seeking peaceful solutions to problems. The position he outlined on the Star Wars program — officially, the Strategic Defense Initiative — was the most generous interpretation of permitted testing so far by the Soviet side." (Jack Redden, "Soviets To Allow Wide Testing Of 'Stae Wars,'" United Press International, 2/26/88)

AFTER IRAQ WAR, LIBYAN DICTATOR QADHAFI GAVE UP NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM

Libya Approached U.S. & British Intelligence Services About Nuclear Program At Same Time Of Iraq Invasion. "Libya's action halted an active nuclear weapons program that U.S. intelligence agencies had never said publicly that Libya possessed. It was announced after nine months of consultations with U.S. and British intelligence services that began at Libya's initiation almost simultaneously with the U.S.- and British-led invasion of Iraq." (William Douglas and Jonathan S. Landay, "Bush Hails Libyan Plans to End Nuclear, Chemical Weapons Programs," Knight Ridder, 12/20/03)

Foreign Policy Research Institute's Senior Fellow Edward A. Turzanski Said That If U.S. Had Not Invaded Iraq, Qadhafi Would Not Have Given Up His Weapons Program. "Gadhafi of Libya would not have given up his illicit nuclear weapons program had Hussein not been chased into and dragged out of a spider hole, and A.Q. Khan's nuclear technology black market would not have been exposed and shut down." ("What If …?" The Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/11/05)

The Cincinnati Enquirer: "Rattled By The Iraq Invasion, Libya Gave Up Its Nuclear Programs Last Year." (Editorial, "A 'Critical Mass' For Freedom," The Cincinnati Enquirer, 3/10/05)

New York Daily News Said That Libya Relinquished Its WMD Program Because Of Iraq Invasion. "Bush's move into Iraq exemplifies a commitment to stay on the offensive against terror, and to do so militarily where necessary and feasible, as was the case in Iraq. The message has been clearly heard in capitals around the world. That's why strongman Moammar Khadafy relinquished Libya's WMD program, and it's why a nuclear black market operating out of Pakistan has been shut down." (Editorial, "Right War, Right Time, Right Man," Daily News, 10/31/04)

NEW NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE SAYS INTERNATIONAL
THREATS AND PRESSURE HAS DETERRED IRANIANS

National Intelligence Estimate States Iran's Decision To Suspend Uranium Enrichment "Was Primarily In Response To Increasing International Scrutiny And Pressure." "We judge with high confidence that the halt, and Tehran's announcement of its decision to suspend its declared uranium enrichment program and sign an Additional Protocol to its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement, was directed primarily in response to increasing international scrutiny and pressure resulting from exposure of Iran's previously undeclared nuclear work." (National Intelligence Council, "Iran: Nuclear Intentions And Capabilities," http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/20071203_release.pdf, 11/07)

Intelligence Community Believes "Some Combination Of Threats … And Pressures" Could Encourage Iran "To Extend The Current Halt." "Our assessment that Iran halted the program in 2003 primarily in response to international pressure indicates Tehran's decisions are guided by a cost-benefit approach rather than a rush to a weapon irrespective of the political, economic, and military costs. This, in turn, suggests that some combination of threats of intensified international scrutiny and pressures, along with opportunities for Iran to achieve its security, prestige, and goals for regional influence in other ways, might—if perceived by Iran's leaders as credible—prompt Tehran to extend the current halt to its nuclear weapons program. It is difficult to specify what such a combination might be." (National Intelligence Council, "Iran: Nuclear Intentions And Capabilities," http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/20071203_release.pdf, 11/07)

Jon B. Wolfsthal, Senior Fellow At The Center For Strategic And International Studies: "This NIE Suggests That Outside Pressure Has Turned Off Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program." (Greg Miller, "Iran Halted Nuclear Push In 2003, U.S. Now Says," Los Angeles Times, 12/4/07)

Los Angeles Times: "In Some Respects … The Intelligence Estimate Could Be Viewed As Providing Evidence That The Aggressive Policies Of The Bush Administration Were Effective In Putting Pressure On Tehran." (Greg Miller, "Iran Halted Nuclear Push In 2003, U.S. Now Says," Los Angeles Times, 12/4/07)

NEW NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE ALSO SAYS THREAT
OF IRAN OBTAINING NUCLEAR WEAPONS REMAINS

Intelligence Community Believes It "Will Be Difficult" To Convince "Iranian Leadership To Forgo The Eventual Development Of Nuclear Weapons." "We assess with moderate confidence that convincing the Iranian leadership to forgo the eventual development of nuclear weapons will be difficult given the linkage many within the leadership probably see between nuclear weapons development and Iran's key national security and foreign policy objectives, and given Iran's considerable effort from at least the late 1980s to 2003 to develop such weapons. In our judgment, only an Iranian political decision to abandon a nuclear weapons objective would plausibly keep Iran from eventually producing nuclear weapons—and such a decision is inherently reversible." (National Intelligence Council, "Iran: Nuclear Intentions And Capabilities," http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/20071203_release.pdf, 11/07)

NIE Cannot Confirm That Entire Iranian Weapons Program Has Been Halted. "Because of intelligence gaps discussed elsewhere in this Estimate, however, DOE and the NIC assess with only moderate confidence that the halt to those activities represents a halt to Iran's entire nuclear weapons program." (National Intelligence Council, "Iran: Nuclear Intentions And Capabilities," http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/20071203_release.pdf, 11/07)

NIE Notes Iran Continues To Enrich Uranium Necessary For Weapons Program. "We assess centrifuge enrichment is how Iran probably could first produce enough fissile material for a weapon, if it decides to do so. Iran resumed its declared centrifuge enrichment activities in January 2006, despite the continued halt in the nuclear weapons program." (National Intelligence Council, "Iran: Nuclear Intentions And Capabilities," http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/20071203_release.pdf, 11/07)

NIE Says Iran Continues Range Of Activities Applicable To Nuclear Weapons Program. "Iranian entities are continuing to develop a range of technical capabilities that could be applied to producing nuclear weapons, if a decision is made to do so. For example, Iran's civilian uranium enrichment program is continuing. We also assess with high confidence that since fall 2003, Iran has been conducting research and development projects with commercial and conventional military applications—some of which would also be of limited use for nuclear weapons." (National Intelligence Council, "Iran: Nuclear Intentions And Capabilities," http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/20071203_release.pdf, 11/07)

Rudy Giuliani, Giuliani Campaign Press Release - Giuliani Ad Facts: "One Hour" Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/295690

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