Albright and Berger: Romney’s Approach to National Security is Flawed

Gabe Cahn — October 22, 2012 – 11:20 am | Barack Obama | Election 2012 | Foreign Policy | Mitt Romney Comments (0) Add a comment

Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and former National Security adviser Samuel Berger shared their disapproval of Mitt Romney’s foreign policy posturing in an op-ed for USA Today. They argued that Romney’s approach to national security is “flawed” and that his attacks on the Obama Administration’s foreign policies are “not supported by facts.” The two also praised President Obama’s efforts to support Israel:

In Tuesday’s debate, Governor Mitt Romney demonstrated the flawed nature of his approach to national security. Instead of outlining a clear and coherent vision of what he would do as commander in chief, he has chosen to attack the administration for alleged weakness. This accusation is based on assertions - that the president has failed to support allies or stand up for America - that are simply not supported by facts.

Recall that, on his first day in office, President Obama confronted two hot wars, a persistent terrorist threat, a global economic crisis, a divided NATO and an America whose international prestige had fallen to the lowest levels since the Vietnam War. Obviously, the president possessed no magic wand and could not solve every dilemma overnight, but he immediately set to work and has shown a remarkable steadiness of purpose.

From the beginning of his term, Obama’s top priority has been to protect the U.S. homeland through an unrelenting pursuit of Al-Qaeda and like-minded groups…

[U]nder the president’s strong leadership, we extricated our combat troops from Iraq, and after more than a decade of fighting, our armed forces have begun a transition to local control in Afghanistan. Despite pressure from multiple directions, the president has remained firm in supporting democratic processes in the Middle East…

At the same time, the administration has assembled a robust international coalition to tighten multilateral sanctions against Iran, whose radical leaders are facing an economic meltdown and under obvious stress. The president has stated explicitly that Iran will not be allowed to build or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons - prevention, not containment, is the only option. In this context, Obama and his advisers have been in continuous contact with Israel regarding Iran’s nuclear program and other potential threats.

Simultaneously, the United States has increased military assistance to Israel to unprecedented levels, including support for Israel’s Iron Dome program, which is protecting innocent villagers from Gaza-based rocket attacks, and stood with it at the U.N. when others sought to undermine its international position. It’s little wonder that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says, ‘I can hardly remember a better period of American support and backing ... than we have right now.’...

Romney is correct to suggest that grave international challenges remain, but wrong to conclude that this fact strengthens the rationale for his candidacy. On the contrary, the ongoing need for stalwart leadership is precisely why the president should be re-elected.

To read the full article, click here.

 

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