Mitt Romney: Middle East Is ‘Longing For American Leadership’

Mitt Romney spoke to supporters on Monday, stating that the Middle East is “longing for American leadership” during a speech that attacked President Obama’s foreign policy approach.

Romney added that the risk of conflict in the Middle East “is higher now” than before Obama took office, reports Detroit News. During the speech in Virginia, the Republican nominee also stated that the US should take a more assertive role in the Syrian conflict by providing weapons to opposition forces.

Fox News notes that Romney stated:

“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.”

The Republican nominee accused the president of “passivity” in the region, stating that there is “a longing for American leadership in the Middle East.” The speech at the Virginia Military Institute was meant to paint his opponent as a weak leader who has limited the country’s influence on global affairs. Romney added that America’s gains in Iraq under President Bush have eroded.

Mitt Romney also emphasized his hope for a two-state solution for peace between Israel and Palestine, a process that he earlier dismissed during his now-infamous “47 percent” video. The Republican nominee also criticized Barack Obama for a “politically timed” retreat from Afghanistan but added that he would keep the same 2014 deadline the president promised for US troops to pull out of the country.

Romney’s speech also conveyed the thought that the US embassy attacks, particularly the assault on the consulate in Benghazi, show that the Middle East needs US involvement. Romney stated:

“The attacks on America last month should not be seen as random acts. They are expressions of a larger struggle that is playing out across the broader Middle East — a region that’s now in the midst of the most profound upheaval in a century.”

The Republican nominee added that:

“I know the president hopes for a safer, freer, and a more prosperous Middle East allied with us. I share this hope. But hope is not a strategy. We can’t support our friends and defeat our enemies in the Middle East when our words are not backed up by deeds.”

What do you think of Mitt Romney’s attacks on President Obama’s foreign policy stance?

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