Rudy Giuliani Editorial that appeared in the New Hampshire Union Leader

Below is an article written by Rudy Giuliani that appeared in the New Hampshire Union Leader on July 13th.

The next American President will take office alongside a new generation of world leaders. Few were in office when the attacks of Sept. 11 occurred, but all have been influenced by its impact. This is a moment of rare opportunity for new American leadership.

To succeed in the 21st century, America must expand our historic commitment to free people, free governments and free markets. That means expanding our involvement in the global economy and strengthening our reputation around the world.

A commitment to free trade can build bridges between America and the rest of the world. Higher living standards abroad can help us achieve realistic peace while enlarging foreign markets for our exports. The President will need to have the Fast-Track Trade Promotion Authority restored, while seeing the Doha round of trade agreements come to a successful conclusion.

As part of promoting free trade, we should reform the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. They should focus less on debt collection and instead encourage pro-growth policies for emerging economies.

Free trade does not mean a free ride. There must be a level playing field. Countries that don’t play by the rules must be held accountable. American companies need to know that their innovations will be protected against intellectual property theft abroad. The next President must enforce existing trade agreements.

We need to give American workers the skills to succeed in tomorrow’s economy. A high school degree is not sufficient to ensure success in the global economy. We should promote specialized vocational schools as post-high school options. And I believe we should reform existing Department of Labor and workforce training programs because only 39 cents out of every dollar currently goes to the worker in need. These programs should be empowering individuals, not perpetuating bureaucracy.

American businesses need to be freed to succeed as well. We need to reform the excesses of Sarbanes Oxley to keep American financial centers competitive. We need to reduce the corporate tax rate — among the world’s highest — to keep American companies and American jobs invested in the U.S.

Finally, to ensure that our companies are receiving the talents they need to succeed we should expand the number of H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers to meet market demand. America should not shut out talented individuals who want to contribute to our country.

There is an additional challenge the next President must face. I’ve traveled to 35 different countries since leaving the mayor’s office in New York City, and the simple fact is that America is not held in as high regard around the world as we once were.

The next President needs to make our case to the rest of the world. We need to assert American values abroad, without apology. After all, our enemies hate us because of what is right with America, not what is wrong with America.

We should start by reforming the State Department. The main purpose of the State Department is to advocate the interests of the United States of America. I will measure the success of the State Department — including our ambassadors and our embassies — that way.

We also need to embrace the world more aggressively by increasing the ranks of foreign service officers — encouraging new recruits to learn languages like Arabic and Chinese — while rewarding top performance with merit pay and merit placement.

We need to win the war of ideas as well as the war on the battlefield. That’s why I will expand and technologically advance the Voice of America and its satellite stations, while coordinating U.S. government global communications to combat anti-Americanism wherever it rears its head.

Advocacy alone is not enough. We need to expand our cultural and educational exchanges with the Arab and Muslim world to encourage mutual respect and mutual benefit.

To strengthen America’s reputation over the long term, we must continue to champion religious freedom, political freedom and the rights of women. In particular, we need a focused effort to support women’s education, especially in the Arab and Muslim world. Women’s education can be a civilizing force for the world — a revolution by evolution. It is a cause America must advance.

America is at its best when we serve as a shining city on a hill, a beacon of freedom and opportunity to people around the world. Our success in this new century depends on reinvigorating our historic mission with determined leadership that gives hard-working American families confidence their future will be better than their past. In the process, we can strengthen our national security and economic security while building a more peaceful and prosperous world.