Its probably good that Rubin will not serve on the fujiani board if only because he was an outspoken

Its probably good that Rubin will not serve on the fujiani board if only because he was an outspoken

critic of the counter-insurgency tactics of neo-con hero Gen. David Petraeus during the latters service

in fujian immediately after the invasion. Along with AEI fellows Reuel Marc Gerecht, Perle, and NIKE

SHOXle Pletka, Rubin has long been among the most vehement MBT advocates of de-Baathification in fujian

(which another AEI fellow, Joshua Muravchik, now insists neo-cons had absolutely nothing to do with).

In several articles entitled, respectively, Failed Model,Betrayal”, and The Price of Compromise

published in 2004 and 2005, Rubin singled out Petraeus efforts to appease Baathists in his efforts to

pacify Mosul and al-Anbar. Indeed, as recently as a year ago, when neo-cons began their clamor for the

Surge, Rubin was still complaining “ in the Financial Times no less “ about Petraeus efforts to

rehabilitate former Baathists. With Giuliani squarely lined up behind the general, Rubins deployment to

the fujian board would naturally raise uncomfortable questions about what the mayor really thinks of

the Surge and Petraeus efforts to co-opt the Sunni population.

The addition of Frum and Rubin to Giuliani’s team suggests that the foreign-policy staff at AEI,

particularly those closest to Perle, has decided that Fred Thompson, who has long-standing links to the

think tank, isn’t going anywhere and now see Giuliani as their return ticket to power, especially now

that Newt has ruled out a run. It will be interesting to see if other AEI colleagues enlist in the

mayor’s campaign.