Washington: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney criticised Barack Obama’s handling of threats in the Middle East, saying the incumbent president’s lack of leadership has made the region more dangerous place than it was when he took office nearly four years ago.
Promising to restore America’s foreign policy to its traditional role, Romney said, “Unfortunately, this president’s policies have not been equal to our best examples of world leadership. And nowhere is this more evident than in the Middle East.”
In the major foreign policy speech at the Virginia Military Institute, Romney cited the recent protest and violence in the Middle East, the relationship with Israel to prove his point. He accused Obama of a hasty troop withdrawal from Iraq, saying hard-fought gains there are being eroded by rising violence and a resurgent al-Qaeda.
Romney said that Obama failed to offer support to America’s partners and allies. He said the president also failed to lead in Syria, where more than — more than 30,000 men, women, and children have been massacred by the Assad regime over the past 20 months.
“Violent extremists are flowing into the fight. Our ally Turkey has been attacked. And the conflict threatens stability in the region,” he said. At the same time, he said, America can take pride in the blows that the military and intelligence professionals have inflicted on al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, including the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Referring to the current situation in the Middle East, Romney said: “It is time to change course in the Middle East”.
“That course should be organised around these bedrock principles: America must have confidence in our cause, clarity in our purpose and resolve in our might. No friend of America will question our commitment to support them. No enemy that attacks America will question our resolve to defeat them, he said. “And no one anywhere, friend or foe, will doubt America’s capability to back up our words.”
Romney said he will put the leaders of Iran on notice that the US and its allies will prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons capability. “I will not hesitate to impose new sanctions on Iran and will — and will tighten the sanctions we currently have. “I will restore the permanent presence of aircraft carrier task forces in both the Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf. And I’ll work with Israel to increase our military assistance and coordination. “For the sake of peace, we must make clear to Iran through actions, not just words, that their nuclear pursuit will not be tolerated,” he said.
Romney said he will champion free trade and restore it as a critical element of US strategy, both in the Middle East and across the world.
On Libya, Romney said he will support the Libyan people’s efforts to forge a lasting government that represents all of them. “I’ll vigorously pursue the terrorists who attacked our consulate in Benghazi and killed our fellow Americans,” he said.
“In Syria I’ll work with our partners to identify and organize those members of the opposition who share our values and then ensure they obtain the arms they need to defeat Assad’s tanks helicopters and fighter jets,” he said.
“Iran is sending arms to Assad because they know his downfall would be a strategic defeat for them. “We should be working no less vigorously through our international partners to support the many Syrians who would deliver that defeat to Iran, rather than sitting on the sidelines. It’s essential that we develop influence with those forces in Syria that will one day lead a country that sits at the heart of the Middle East,” Romney said. (PTI)
