Romney’s Citadel Address Hammers Obama on Foreign Policy
SPEECH VIDEO -don’t miss it. 23 min.
By Amiel Ungar, INN
The Citadel is located in South Carolina, a key early primary state where Romney was given no chance. Now, with Rick Perry’s campaign in the doldrums, Romney is making forays into the state. If he can score in a rock-ribbed conservative state, the game may be over quickly.
Another sign of Romney’s growing confidence is that he departed from his signature issue of economic competence to concentrate on foreign policy in his speech.
Romney promised his audience that as president he would restore the United States to its position as undisputed world leader by rebuilding the sources of American strength: “a strong economy, a strong defense, and the enduring strength of our values.”
Obama, argued Romney had permitted all three of these sources to atrophy.
Despite America’s weakened economic position, America under Romney would not heed the isolationist siren nor would it seek refuge in a balance of power system where the United States is merely one player.
“I will not surrender America’s role in the world. This is very simple: If you do not want America to be the strongest nation on Earth, I am not your President.
“You have that President today.”
An important aspect of Romney’s speech is his opposition to Obama’s “reset” policy of “realistic” accommodation towards Russia. Romney views Putin as yearning for a Soviet style revival and therefore he plans to end the reset. He feels that Putin may attempt “to bludgeon the countries of the former Soviet Union into submission, and intimidate Europe with the levers of its energy resources.”
Russian President Dimitry Medvedev has already announced that Russia supports Obama’s reelection.
Romney hammered Obama for appearing to accommodate America’s rivals while displaying coolness to allies. “Our friends and allies must have no doubts about where we stand. And neither should our rivals.” Romney returned to this theme later on in his address:
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“And I will bolster and repair our alliances. Our friends should never fear that we will not stand by them in an hour of need. I will reaffirm as a vital national interest Israel’s existence as a Jewish state. I will count as dear our Special Relationship with the United Kingdom.”
Romney’s address also demonstrated to what extent Israel has become a consensus issue for the overwhelming majority of the Republican Party and its potential candidates.
South Carolina is not noted for its Jewish population, nor is the Citadel’s student body Jewish, but Romney recurred to the subject of Israel again and again in his address.
This started with the foreign policy hazards he saw facing the United States in the immediate future. The first problem that he mentioned was the threat posed by a nuclear Iran: “a nuclear Iran is nothing less than an existential threat to Israel. Iran’s suicidal fanatics could blackmail the world.”
Romney feared that those “who seek Israel’s destruction” could feel emboldened by American ambivalence and this could force Israel into fighting another war for its existence.
Romney pledged to help transform the UN and other international bodies who have become “forums for the tantrums of tyrants and the airing of the world’s most ancient of prejudices: antisemitism.”
To counter Iran, Romney pledged to station two carrier groups on a regular basis — one in the Eastern Mediterranean and the second in the Persian Gulf region. “I will begin discussions with Israel to increase the level of our military assistance and coordination. And I will again reiterate that Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon is unacceptable.”
Among the forces opposing the United States, Romney singled out fundamentalist Islam, something from which the Obama administration has shied away.
In summation, Romney’s address left no doubt that he was an internationalist and not a realist of the James Baker-Brent Scowcroft school of thought.
I understand HCQ what ur saying
I just got done reading a poll a few minutes ago showing that Herman cain now in the lead 4 the nomination, the poll is on MSNBC website, but the same poll showed of all republicans Mitt Romney had the best chance beating obama, it showed obama only 2 points ahead of Mitt Romney if election today, poll also showed obama beating Herman Cain by 11 points if election today and obama beating Rick Perry by 12 points if election today the rest of republicans it showed obama winning by bigger margins, I say nominate Romney he has the best chance of beating obama
Yeah, you’re right we don’t need no stinking 5th amendment. No due process of law.
Yeah we’re $15 trillion, (not counting unfunded liabilities), in debt but we won’t let that get in the way of sending more Americans into the civil wars of other nations. We’ll just borrow some more, print some more, let the poor and middle class in the U.S. eat the inflation and have a reduced standard of living, let future generations be born into debt all so Americans can pay for the rest of the world’s defense and provide welfare for foreigners who hate us. Great f’in plan can’t wait for reality to kick in.
I am likely to support Herman Cain for the Republican Party nomination for the US presidency in 2012. I like his refreshing tell- it-as-it-is-and-take-no-prisoners approach. Reminds me of the blessed memory of Harry S Truman and maybe Calvin Coolidge rolled into one. But I could just as easily support Mitt Romney if he is the Republican nominee.
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But I have some warning words of advice for all of you. The salvation and well-being of the State of Israel depends directly on the Jewish nation, not on the United States of America. A lot of Americans think this country has a special relationship with Israel, and chances are, there meat and muscle on the bones of that precept.
But when international push comes to shove, the USA serves its own self-perceived interests, which may not necessarily be totally congruent with those of the Jewish nation or the State of Israel. And that hard lesson applies no matter who sits in the White House in Washington DC, USA
The future of the Jewish states means that a larger, more cohesive Jewish nation must grow, live, work, produce and defend itself on the soil of Eretz=Yisrael. Expansion means more land. More land means conquest of additional territories from the Arabs. The larger Israel grows, the more defensible the Jewish state will be, the more resources that will be available to Israeli industry and agriculture, the more normalized the Jewish relationship with the other nations of the world will become. Because that kind of relationship requires power. And power is never achieved and held without conquest.
Learn to stop looking for ways to entice the Arabs or other enemies of Israel into recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, or any other such legalistic nonsense. Instead, learn to use their endless animosities against Jews in general and Israeli Jews in particular as good excuses to take more of their land from and then expel them into life of their own permanent diasporas.
In war — and all of you are permanently in such a war whether you like it or not — there is no substitute for conquest, destruction of the enemy, and victory based on such conquest. Like every other organism living on this planet, you and your descendants must permanently struggle. I think haShem’s more important admonition to our forefathers, back on that sunbaked wasteland of the Sinai some 3400 years ago, was to carry out the territorial imperative the He laid out for you in the opening chapters of the great and immortal Tora of the Jewish nation.
Conquer, grow and live.
Or weaken, wall yourselves into an 8,000 square mile ghetto, and die.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
ROMNEY IS A GOOD MAN I,LL VOTE FOR HIM
I totally agree Laura and Alan.
President Romney, Perry, or Cain all sound good for me. All of them would be a vast improvement over the piece of manure occupying the White House these past three years.
With the exception of Mister Campbell Brown aka Dan Senor, I am impressed with most of the advisers Romney has surrounded himself with, though I would have liked to see John Bolton, Max Boot, and Frank Gaffney on board. But at least we don’t see the names of the Democrats Best RINO Big Oil, Anti-Semite friends Jimmy Baker, Brent Scowcroft, Bobby Gates and “general” Jimmy Jones – the types McCain loved and who ended up serving Obama.
While I still haven’t decided who I will vote for in the primaries, Romney’s words and choices are welcome indeed. As for that other Democrat who claims to be a Republican, the nutcase known as Ron Paul, well, anyone who’d twist the Constitution to allow criminals to enter someone’s home and not be gunned down because they’re American and have rights – which is pretty much what he is saying in his outrageous comments decrying the termination of Al-Awlaki deserves not to even be in Congress but be placed in an insane asylum – or maybe Gaza. Paul + Obama = two sides of the same sick coin.
I feel comfortable voting for him.
Romney will get the nomination
Good speech. This just in: my 9 yr. oold grand-daughter Brittany just called Herman Cain – “Nova Cain”.
Why the need for teleprompters?????