Being friends with Israel is one thing, delegating the decision to go to war is something else
Romney pledged that, as president, he?d agree to pretty much any action Israel decided to adopt towards Iran, military or otherwise, while suggesting it was not Washington?s place to take the lead in seeking peace.
Being friends with Israel is one thing, but delegating the decision on whether to go to war is something else. Most European countries stopped making that sort of promise after stumbling into the First World War based on mutual aggression agreements.
His remarks on Russia have similarly elicited questions. Assessing America?s international challenges, Mr. Romney declared Russia is ?without question our number one geopolitical foe.? The remark seemed to ignore China?s overwhelming growth in influence and stature, and the ongoing crises of the Middle East, not least Iran?s nuclear ambitions. Though, having ceded decision-making authority on that front to Israel, perhaps Mr. Romney felt the file was closed.
Read more from Kelly McParland?
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has been accused of undermining the Middle East peace process and making ?racist? statements during his trip to Israel, where he referred to Jerusalem as the country?s capital and told wealthy Jewish donors that their culture is part of the reason Israelis are more economically successful than nearby Palestinians.
?As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,? Romney told about 40 donors who breakfasted at the luxurious King David Hotel in Jerusalem Monday.
?And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things,? Romney said, citing an innovative business climate, the Jewish history of thriving in difficult circumstances and the ?hand of providence.?
Within days of being publicly criticized by the British prime minister for his statements about the Olympics, Romney?s comments once again put him at the centre of an international dustup.
?It is a racist statement and this man doesn?t realize that the Palestinian economy cannot reach its potential because there is an Israeli occupation,? Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told The Associated Press.
?It seems to me this man (Romney) lacks information, knowledge, vision and understanding of this region and its people,? Erekat added. ?He also lacks knowledge about the Israelis themselves. I have not heard any Israeli official speak about cultural superiority.?
The breakfast with top donors, mostly Jewish Americans living in Israel, included billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and hedge fund manager Paul Singer ? concluded Romney?s visit to Israel, the second leg of a three-nation overseas tour designed to bolster the his foreign policy credentials.
REUTERS/Jason Reed
Sheldon Adelson (R), Chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp, and his wife Miriam are pictured after attending U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's foreign policy remarks at Mishkenot Sha'ananim in Jerusalem, July 29, 2012.
On Sunday, Romney, presenting himself as Israel?s best friend in the November 6 presidential election, said on Sunday that ?any and all measures? must be used to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
A top aide said Romney would support an Israeli military strike if all options had been exhausted, but the candidate himself balked at repeating that position.
In a foreign policy speech in Jerusalem, Romney voiced strong support for the alliance between the United States and Israel and seemed to suggest that President Barack Obama had let the relationship flounder.
?We cannot stand silent as those who seek to undermine Israel voice their criticisms. And we certainly should not join in that criticism. Diplomatic distance in public between our nations emboldens Israel?s adversaries,? said Romney, the walls of the Old City lining the hilltop behind him.
REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk
(Click to enlarge) Brett Favre (R), with New York Jets owner Woody Johnson at his side, talks during a news conference as he is introduced as a member of the New York Jets on August 7, 2008. Johnson attended a breakfast fundraiser for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in Jerusalem Monday.
The former Massachusetts governor was in Jerusalem on the second leg of a trip to strengthen his foreign policy credentials in his race to unseat Obama.
?We should employ any and all measures to dissuade the Iranian regime from its nuclear course, and it is our fervent hope that diplomatic and economic measures will do so. In the final analysis, of course, no option should be excluded. We recognize Israel?s right to defend itself, and that it is right for America to stand with you,? he said.
Though he adopted an aggressive tone, Romney did not go as far as his senior foreign policy advisor, Dan Senor, who said earlier: ?If Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing that capability, the governor would respect that decision.?
The aide?s comments put Romney at odds with Obama?s efforts to press Israel to avoid any pre-emptive strike before tough Western economic sanctions against Iran run their course.
Romney, however, refused to repeat them when asked by CBS? ?Face the Nation.?
?Well I think because I?m on foreign soil I don?t want to be creating new foreign policy for my country or in any way to distance myself in the foreign policy of our nation. But we respect the right of a nation to defend itself,? Romney said.
The failure of talks between Iran and six world powers to secure a breakthrough in curbing what the West fears is a drive to develop nuclear weapons has raised international concern that Israel may opt for a military strike.
AP Photo/Charles Dharapak
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and his wife Ann board their charter plane in Tel Aviv, Israel as they travel to Poland, Monday, July 30, 2012.
?STRONG MILITARY THREAT?
The presidential hopeful was greeted warmly earlier by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an old friend of his, who has at times had a strained relationship with Obama.
Netanyahu issued his customary call for stronger measures behind the sanctions to prevent Iran from developing an atomic bomb, which Israel says would be a threat to its existence. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
?We have to be honest that sanctions have not set back the Tehran program one iota and that a strong military threat coupled with sanctions are needed to have a chance to change the situation,? Netanyahu said.
Israel, widely assumed to be the Middle East?s only nuclear-armed state, has warned it is only a matter of time before Iran?s nuclear program achieves a ?zone of immunity? in which uranium enrichment facilities buried deep underground will be invulnerable to bombing.
(Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney visits the Western Wall on July 29, 2012 in Jerusalem's old city, Israel. Mitt Romney visits Israel as part of a three-nation foreign tour which also includes visits to Poland and Great Britain.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, arriving in Tunisia at the start of a week-long trip to the Middle East and North Africa, defended U.S.-Israeli defense cooperation under Obama.
?I?m not going to comment on what political candidates say or don?t say,? Panetta said.
?I?m proud of the defense partnership that we?ve built over the past several years. The U.S.-Israel defense relationship, I believe, is stronger today than it has been in the past,? the Pentagon chief told reporters traveling with him.
Though Washington has been pressing Israel not to launch a solo strike on Iran, Obama has not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to curb Iran?s nuclear drive.
Panetta said his view is that the Israelis ?have not made any decisions with regards to Iran and that they continue to support the international effort to bring pressure against Iran.?
In an effort that appeared timed to upstage Romney?s visit to Israel, Obama signed a measure on Friday to strengthen U.S.-Israeli military ties.
Romney?s overseas tour got off to a rocky start, when he angered the British by questioning whether London was ready for the Olympics, a statement he was forced to clarify after a rebuke from Prime Minister David Cameron.
AFP PHOTO/ALEX KOLOMOISKY
U.S. Republican party presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at an event in Jerusalem on July 29, 2012.
His visit to Israel gives him the opportunity to appeal to Jewish voters and pro-Israel evangelical voters and contrast himself with Obama.
Romney has sharply criticized Obama?s handling of Iran as not being tough enough.
After talks with Israeli leaders, Romney met Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. He then visited the Western Wall, Judaism?s most revered site.
Wearing a black Jewish skullcap and surrounded by a determined throng of security personnel who cleared a path for him, Romney carefully navigated his way through hundreds of worshippers, some of whom shouted cries of support.
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With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
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