WASHINGTON, Oct 9: 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 said, “The President is fond of saying that ‘the tide of war is receding’. And I want to believe him as much as anyone else.”
“But when we look at the Middle East today, with Iran closer than ever to nuclear weapons capability, with the conflict in Syria threatening to destabilise the region and with violent extremists on the march, and with an American ambassador and three others dead—likely at the hands of al-Qaeda affiliates—it’s clear that the risk of conflict in the region is higher now than when the president took office.
In the address, Romney cited the recent protest and violence in the Middle East, the relationship with Israel to prove his point.
“It is our responsibility and the responsibility of the President to use America’s great power to shape history, not to lead from behind, leaving our destiny at the mercy of events,” he said.
“Unfortunately, that’s exactly where we find ourselves in the Middle East under President Obama. The relationship between the president of the United States and the prime minister of Israel, for example, our closest ally in the region, has suffered great strains.
“The president explicitly stated that his goal was to put daylight between the United States and Israel, and he’s succeeded. This is a dangerous situation that has set back the hope of peace in the Middle East and emboldened our mutual adversaries, especially Iran,” he argued.
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.
“In Iraq the costly gains made by our troops are being eroded by rising violence, a resurgent al-Qaeda, the weakening of democracy in Baghdad and the rising influence of Iran. And yet America’s ability to influence events for the better in Iraq has been undermined by the abrupt withdrawal of our entire troop presence,” Romney said.
“The president’s tried, he tried, but he also failed to secure a responsible and gradual drawdown that would have better secured our gains.” (PTI)
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