Giuliani attacks Kerry during stop in Mason City

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani made a stop in Mason City Friday on behalf of President Bush, a day after Giuliani said it was American troops who bear “ultimate responsibility” for missing explosives in Iraq. On Friday, a soldier said he had been in charge of destroying explosives from the weapons depot in question, but Pentagon spokesmen could not confirm that what was destroyed was what’s listed as missing. During his stop in Mason City, Giuliani attacked John Kerry for making the missing explosives an issue. Giuliani said there was “allegedly” 377 tons of explosives that are unaccountaged for, but “what the New York Times and CBS News doesn’t emphasize is that our military has captured and destroyed over 400,000 tons of explosives since they’ve been in Iraq.” Giuliani told the crowd in Mason City that Kerry is showing “duplicity” by criticizing President Bush over the missing weapons. “If John Kerry is so concerned about these 377 tons of explosives that he allegedly says are missing, why does he question the President attacking Saddam Hussein when Saddam Hussein was sitting there with 400,000 tons of explosives that we’ve now had to destroy,” Giuliani said. Giuliani also accused Kerry of not supporting American troops. “What he does in calling into question, without any evidence when nobody knows the facts, calling into question what was done in Iraq, constantly second-guessing, saying to them you know ‘wrong war, wrong place, wrong time.'” Colin Van Ostren, a spokesman for the Kerry campaign in Iowa, says “Rudy Giuliani and George Bush should apologize for blaming this security breach on our soldiers.” Van Ostren says accountability stops with the Commander-in-Chief, and George Bush has failed that test yet again. “Excuses and finger-pointing don’t keep our country safe, and that’s why Iowans are turning to John Kerry for a fresh start,” Van Ostren said.