Presidents, mayors will gather for 9/11 event

10th anniversary

The ceremony at the World Trade Center site marking the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will be a solemn but stately event, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Saturday.

President Barack Obama and Bloomberg will be joined by former President George W. Bush and former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The names of the nearly 3,000 victims -- including those who died at the Pentagon and aboard United Flight 93 -- will be read aloud for the first time.

Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Saturday signaled continuing military cooperation with the U.S., doubling the size of a planned purchase of U.S. fighter jets, but he sidestepped the question of whether U.S. troops will be asked to stay in the country past a Dec. 31 deadline for their withdrawal.

Al-Maliki told reporters that Iraq plans to buy 36 F16 fighter jets to help its fledgling Air Force defend the country. Baghdad had postponed plans to buy 18 of the multimillion-dollar jets, diverting almost $1 billion of the money to buying food for impoverished regions after anti-government protests.

Pakistan

Pakistan has placed new travel restrictions on American diplomats living in the country, a U.S. official said Saturday, the latest sign of the breakdown in ties between Islamabad and Washington since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May.

Pakistan reacted furiously to the raid because it was carried out with no warning to authorities in Islamabad. The fallout battered an already frayed relationship seen as key to the fight against al-Qaida and Washington's hopes of reaching a settlement in Afghanistan and withdrawing troops.

A letter from the Foreign Ministry sent to the American Embassy last month states that all of its diplomats must now apply for special permission to leave the capital five days in advance of travel, including visits to cities where the U.S. has consulates.

Yemen

Government air strikes in southern Yemen targeting al-Qaida-linked militants accidentally killed 40 pro-government tribesmen, a Yemeni security official and a tribal chief said Saturday.

The botched air strikes reflect the deteriorating security situation that has spread across the impoverished, heavily armed country since the popular uprising against longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh began six months ago.

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani to Republicans: 'Stay Out of Gay ...

Appearing on CNN's “State of the Union” Sunday, the former 2008 presidential contender says he believes marriage is between one man and one woman but he respects his state's decision.

“I think that marriage should be between a man and woman,” Giuliani said, “but I think that the Republican Party would be well advised to get the heck out of people's bedrooms and let these things get decided by states.”

Giuliani's own state, New York, passed legislation last month to allow same-sex marriage. Gay couples will be allowed to wed starting July 24, when the law comes into effect.

Saying that he thinks the legislation passed by New York lawmakers is “wrong,” Giuliani quickly added that “there are other things that I think are wrong that get decided by Democratic vote.”

Asked if he could see any harm coming to New York by lawmakers enacting the bill, the former presidential candidate said no, but that it would “better for stability and families” if marriage was kept between a man and a woman.

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He added, “I see more harm, however, by dwelling so much on this subject of gays and lesbians and whether it's right or wrong in politics ."

“I feel we have far more relevant things to talk about,” Giuliani said citing the current budget debates and the war in Afghanistan .

He concluded his comments by again calling on Republicans to stay out of the same-sex marriage debate. “We'd be a more successful political party if we stuck to our economic, conservative roots and our idea of a strong, conservative America that's not embarrassed to be the leader of the world,” he said.

If Giuliani does decided to join the 2012 presidential race, it is unsure how his call on Republicans to essentially get over gay marriage might affect his appeal with conservative voters, which he cites as the base of his party.

Giuliani, who supports civil unions, told NBC New York last month that he understands why gays and lesbians have been pushing for marriage. He said, “I completely understand what people are striving for... I was very glad to see people relieved of this burden of discrimination, which is a terrible thing to feel."

The former New York City mayor lived briefly with a gay couple after his second marriage fell apart in 2001. He had purportedly promised the couple that he would preside over their wedding.

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