No Speech Can Fix Mitt Romney's Flawed Foreign Policy

December 7, 2007 -- Mitt Romney still seems to think he can talk his way out of his campaign's biggest problems. After failing to address his litany of flip-flops and complete lack of credibility in yesterday's speech in Texas, Romney is giving a speech in Iowa today aimed at tackling another challenge: his lack of foreign policy experience. After spending the past year trying to avoid talking about Iraq and echoing President Bush's bellicose rhetoric on Iran, Romney is desperately trying to convince Iowa caucus goers to ignore the fact that he is just another Bush Republican governor with no foreign policy experience who will say whatever it takes to secure his party's nomination.

Unfortunately for Romney, the voters are rejecting his efforts to say whatever he thinks they want to hear. According to a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll, just eight percent of Republicans think Romney "says what he believes rather than what voters want to hear." [Los Angeles Times, 12/5/07] The poll put Romney last among the five leading GOP candidates.

"If smooth talking Mitt Romney thinks he can talk his way out of his lack of foreign policy experience, he can begin by finally offering a plan for Iraq or explaining whether he still stands by his bellicose rhetoric on Iran after the National Intelligence Estimate shows the Bush Administration misled us on the threat," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera. "The American people aren't looking to elect another inexperienced governor with no foreign policy experience, no plan for Iraq, and a consistent pattern of foreign policy blunders their next president."

Romney Backs Bush on Iraq, Iran

Mitt Romney Says Surge is Working, Refuses to Outline Alternate Plan. "'I think in some respects there's more good news on the Iraq front than people have yet to internalize,' [Romney] told reporters after knocking on doors for about an hour." [MSNBC's First Read, 11/10/07] "Romney said the surge of 30,000 more troops in Iraq 'is working,' and if it continues to pay dividends, about one brigade per month could pull out of the war-torn nation in 2008. He said the U.S. should hold firm in Iraq." [Sioux City Journal, 11/14/07] "Romney declined to say how long he'd keep American troops in Iraq if that country hasn't stabilized, saying that 'it's very difficult to forecast a series of actions based on uncertain settings. . . I really can't forecast from something other than success.'" [Concord Monitor, 11/13/07]

Romney Advocates "Blockade" or "Bombardment" of Iran. Romney advocated military options against Iran if economic sanctions failed to deter Iran from pursuing its nuclear program. "If for some reasons they continue down their course of folly toward nuclear ambition, then I would take military action," he told New Hampshire voters. "We have a number of options from blockade to bombardment of some kind. And that's something we very much have to keep on the table, and we will ready ourselves to be able to take," he continued. [Associated Press, 10/25/07]

Romney: Military Option "In Our Hand." "I think Iran has to understand that not only is the military option on the table," Mitt Romney told the RJC, "it is in our hand." ["Former Gov. Mitt Romney Delivers Remarks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory 2008 Forum," CQ Transcripts, 10/16/07]

Romney's Foreign Policy Fumbles Reveal Lack of Experience

Romney Takes Checklist Approach to Foreign Policy to Cover Lack of Experience. The Associated Press highlighted Romney's "checklist" approach to winning the Republican nomination: "As Mitt Romney transitions from one-term governor to presidential candidate, he has been ticking through a presidential checklist, sometimes with perilous results. Where he lacked foreign policy experience, his staff arranged one-day visits to Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Check, check, check." [Associated Press, 3/26/07]

Romney: Catching Osama "Insignificant," Said It's "Not Worth Moving Heaven and Earth" to Capture bin Laden. In an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, April 26, 2007, Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said, "the country would be safer by only 'a small percentage' and would see 'a very insignificant increase in safety' if al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was caught because another terrorist would rise to power. 'It's not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.'" [Associated Press, 4/26/2007]

Romney: There Is NOT a Global War on Terror. During an event in Iowa, Romney said: "There's not a global war on terror. There's a global war being waged by the terrorists and if I am president, there will be a global war waged on the terrorists and we will win." [Iowa City Press-Citizen, 8/9/07]

* Two Months Earlier, Romney Attacked Democrats for Saying the Same Thing. "Can you imagine Democrats in charge? John Edwards, saying there's no global war on terror?" Romney asked at a New Hampshire event. [Rocky Mountain News, 6/18/07]

Romney Praised Hezbollah, Saying Hezbollah's Diplomacy "Is Something That Would Help America Become Stronger Around the World." At an Iowa town hall, Mitt Romney "offered an eye-catching twist on his usual stump speech" when he praised Hezbollah's use of social services to win over the Lebanese population. He told his audience: "Did you notice in Lebanon what Hezbollah did? Lebanon became a democracy some time ago. And while their government was getting underway, Hezbollah went into southern Lebanon and provided health clinics to some of the people there and schools. And they built their support by having done so." Romney concluded by saying, "That kind of diplomacy is something that would help America become stronger around the world and help people understand that our interest is an interest toward modernity and goodness and freedom for all people of the world." [Washington Post, 8/3/07]

In China, "Romney Stumbled Over Relatively Straightforward Geopolitical Issues." Reporting on Mitt Romney's trip to China, the Boston Globe wrote: "Romney stumbled over relatively straightforward geopolitical issues: Romney had to ask the US Embassy staff accompanying him the value of the Chinese renminbi to the US dollar, despite the fact that this is one of the hottest economic issues between Washington and Beijing." [Boston Globe, 12/9/06]

Romney Flubs Cuba Speech, Misquotes Castro & Offends Cuban Americans with Stereotypical Comments. Romney delivered a speech to the Miami-Dade Republican Party that was heavy on anti-communist rhetoric but full of errors. First, he condemned the Venezuelan president who has embraced Castro. Romney said, "Hugo Chavez has tried to steal an inspiring phrase -- Patria o muerte, venceremos. It does not belong to him. It belongs to a free Cuba." Actually, the quote belongs to Castro who is abhorred in the Cuban American community. The quote, for many Cuban Americans, represents the oppressive regime of Fidel Castro. Then, "he punctuated his speech with 'Libertad, libertad, libertad!' to show his support for freedom in Cuba. But to some,he was echoing a line from Scarface, a movie notorious for its stereotyped portrayal of Cuban immigrants." [Miami Herald, 3/19/07]

Source: DNC