Romney's Bungled Critique of a Failed Mideast Strategy

[Crabtownboy]

Mitt is proving himself unqualified in the world of foreign relations. He has made a number of mistakes ... or his advisers have done a terrible job helping him.

Mitt Romney’s response to the assaults on U.S. embassies in the Middle East was willfully misleading (accusing the Obama administration of issuing a statement sympathizing “with those who waged the attacks,” which it never did), indisputably ill-timed (trying to score political points off a national tragedy) and quite possibly fatal to his chances of becoming president. If Romney hoped to draw a foreign-policy contrast with Obama, he blew the opportunity.

http://www.businessweek.com/article...critique-of-a-failed-mideast-strategy#r=lr-fs

 

[Revmitchell]

Romney was dead on and good for him.

 

[Crabtownboy]

Romney was dead on and good for him.

<PA deleted - LE>
Romney and his advisers should know that when America suffers a tragedy an intelligent candidate does not try to make political points. It does not show leadership or good judgment. And when it is shown conclusively that the comment was in error it becomes even worse.

Romney is killing himself with unthinking statements.

In fact, neither a statement by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo earlier in the day nor a later statement from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton offered sympathy for attackers. The statement from the Cairo Embassy had condemned anti-Muslim religious incitement before the embassy walls were breached. In her statement, issued minutes before Romney's, Clinton had offered the administration's first response to the violence in Libya, explicitly condemning the attack there and confirming the death of a State Department official.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/mitt-romney-middle-east-attacks_n_1879413.html

The bottom line is that Romney's response was incendiary — a political gamble that aimed to shake up the news cycle after a week of stories about Obama's widening lead in the race. And it backfired.

The backlash has been swift and harsh, and it's come at Romney from all directions, including from within his own campaign.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/romney-egypt-libya-embassy-attacks-2012-9#ixzz26SK3x6Ns

Steve Schmidt, senior campaign strategist to Sen. John McCain in McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, told CBS News Wednesday that Romney's "comments were a big mistake, and the decision to double down on them was an even bigger mistake."

"There are legitimate criticisms to be made but you foreclose on your ability to make them when you try to score easy political points," he said. "And the American people, when the country is attacked, whether they're a Republican or Democrat or independent, want to see leaders who have measured responses, not leaders whose first instinct is to try to score political points."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57511601-503544/obama-romney-shoots-first-aims-later/

 

[Bro. Curtis]

:laugh:

So the proper way to deal with a complete foriegn policy meltdown is to not be critical of it. Now is no time to say it failed. That's "incendiary".

:laugh:

Because the democrats set such a high bar on war-time decorum, don't you know.

 

[Jkdbuck76]

That's awesome! Let's focus on Romney's bumbling as opposed to Obama's bumbling.

Well played, DNC. Well played.

Question: when will America ever have good leadership again and there will be two people worth voting for on a Presidential ticket?

If you surmise that I dislike both candidates, then you are correct.

 

[LadyEagle]

Well, liberals will soon have their dream. The failed obama policies have fanned flames across the Middle East and Northern Africa and now DHS is warning of a similar scenario here. Will this be what postpones the election and institutes martial law (like I have said all along)?

This is part of the obama plan. He is succeeding - first overseas and next here. Divide and conquer.

A Muslim Dream of His Father's.

Mitt Romney was dead on right and more Presidential than the current occupant of the WH. These are acts of war, our ambassador was murdered, sodomized, tortured, and dragged through the streets but the left continues on their merry way, never to denounce, only to praise obama because he is their "messiah" and hate and trash Mitt Romney. I saw it all day on CNN and it is repeated here.

The difference between obama and Romney are night and day.

Meanwhile, the so-called leader of the free world will continue fund raising, lying, and appearing on talk shows.

 

[Tom Bryant]

It's not true, but let's just pretend that Romney bungled it. Who has the greater bungling: The one who finds out afterwards and talks about it or the President who was warned about it, did nothing and then skips his National Security Briefing the day after?

If Romney has done wrong, it is only that he hasn't said what the rest of the American people are saying about the coward of a President we have: that President Obama is so far over his head in foreign affairs and the economy. The only place he's not inept is in raising money for his even more corrupt supporters.

We used to say he was the worst President since Carter, now Carter is looking good.

 

[targus]

You know that it's really bad when even an Obama kool-aid drinker like Crabby admits that Obama's Mideast strategy is a failure. :laugh:

 

[LadyEagle]

PS: Usually by this time in a presidential campaign, the presidential nominee receives daily intelligence briefings. Mr. Romney is not receiving them yet from the administration although they promise it will be "soon."

Let's not forget our usual protocol and how this among other things is different in the obama administration.

 

[LadyEagle]

Let us not also forget, that the mob slaughter, torture, sodomization, and dragging through the streets of 1 American, let alone 4 Americans, is an assault, brutalization, torture, and sodomization of ALL Americans. Where is the outrage from the left?

 

[just-want-peace]

Let us not also forget, that the mob slaughter, torture, sodomization, and dragging through the streets of 1 American, let alone 4 Americans, is an assault, brutalization, torture, and sodomization of ALL Americans. Where is the outrage from the left?

OUTRAGE, OUTRAGE??

Surely you don't really expect any outrage for this from the left, do you? This is their dream come true; outrage indeed!!
'Course some just may offer a token outrage just to appear "PATRIOTIC", but tain't so.
We are now seeing the true LEFT, and those "innocents" (???) who support this abomination of a human being are either just as guilty or extremely gullible - I would like to think GULLIBLE, but ----!! Either way this country is in terrible shape!!

 

[Alcott]

There is enough time before election to evaluate all this by whether and how Obama goes after our revenge.

 

[OldRegular]

<PA & response deleted - LE>

I find it more surprising that you would support the most vicious abortionist in the Federal government. Well it is not surprising but it is certainly disgusting!

Romney and his advisers should know that when America suffers a tragedy an intelligent candidate does not try to make political points. It does not show leadership or good judgment. And when it is shown conclusively that the comment was in error it becomes even worse.

Romney is killing himself with unthinking statements.

<deleted - LE> When Romney issued his statement Tuesday it was not known that four Americans had been killed in Libya!

It was a tragedy that the embassy in Cairo would issue a the statement it did and then reinforce that statement hours later. It is a tragedy that the State Department knew about the trouble to come in Libya 48 hours in advance and did nothing.

It is a tragedy whan a major political party in America becomes the party of death and "Christians" support it. Abortion and a death panel!

 

[LadyEagle]

HERE is the original statement that Mr. Romney responded to. At the time, the attacks in Libya were not known - his statement was a response to THIS STATEMENT ISSUED FROM THE US EMBASSY IN EGYPT:

The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims — as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.

SO, MR. ROMNEY'S RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE STATEMENT WAS CORRECT!


It has also been reported that Obama was sleeping while the attacks went on in Cairo and Benghazi and that the Marines in Egypt were not permitted by the State Dept to carry live ammo. This was reported on Marine blogs but were denied by the Det Commander at AMEMB (American Embassy) Cairo.”

http://freebeacon.com/reports-marines-not-permitted-live-ammo/

 

[saturneptune]

Democrats and Republicans share equal blame and shame for the appeasement of Muslim nations over the last several decades. Carter felt compelled to give Eygpt billions of dollars to sign a peace treaty with Israel. Republican Presidents have felt compelled to sell figher jets to Saudi Arabia, and establish military bases in Oman and Baharain. Clinton promoted the PLO. Reagan gave aid to Saddam Hussein in the 80s during its war with Iran. 183 marines were killed by a bomb at a barracks in Lebanon in the early 80s and nothing was ever done about it. During the first Gulf War, the US did not allow Israel defend herself from Iraq. It goes on and on.

The result is that today, we have embassies and fiananical dealings with every Muslim country in the world. They hate us to the death, and despise liberty, freedom and Christianity. We have spent billions of dollars on a group of people who would just as soon see us dead. The US government subsidized a building that gives a forum to Muslim countries to attack the foreign policy of the United States. It is called the UN.

If we had leaders who would have stood up for Israel from day one, and treated Muslim countries for what they are, states from the pits of hell, all of this recent nonsense and maybe 9/11 would have never happened. Instead of ten years in Iraq, American blood, money and effort, start dropping nucs on them.

 

[just-want-peace]

Sn, right on!!!!!!

 

[LadyEagle]

Yes, SN, you are so right on!!

In addition, we have spent billions of dollars for a US Embassy in Baghdad that is larger than Vatican City - another waste of tax dollars (and borrowed). Iraqis are so grateful to us for "freeing" them that they burned our flag and demonstrated yesterday.

In addition, our stupid "leaders" from both parties have bought into this "green nonsense" and through the years we have bought more and more oil from Arab countries - The oil was discovered by the Brits and we have made the Arabs rich! Otherwise, they would still be tent nomads.

When I was a kid, I remember seeing oil wells on farms whenever we traveled. Where are those now? We are sitting on probably one of the earth's largest oil and gas supplies but our "environmentalist elite" in the WH and DC won't let us go for it - THEY keep us strapped to foreign Arabian oil.

We have thrown billions of dollars of foreign aid to these nations hoping to buy their friendship. Instead, the money for food, etc., is skimmed off by these propped up dictators and ends up in Swiss banks. The military aid and training we give them has been either turned against us already or will be one day.

Lastly, it's time to cut off all of the aid to countries who hate us, pull out our diplomats, end the trading agreements, and exploit our own natural resources. If international corporations want to do business over there, well, let them pay for their own security.

 

[OldRegular]

These are acts of war, our ambassador was murdered, sodomized, tortured, and dragged through the streets but the left continues on their merry way, never to denounce, only to praise obama because he is their "messiah" and hate and trash Mitt Romney.

Remember LE the Marxists/leftists have always claimed that you have to break eggs to make an omelet. Tie in Marxist thought with Chicago politics and what do you get? BARAK HUSSEIN OBAMA.

 

[Crabtownboy]

This pretty well sums it up.

When events such as embassy attacks occur, the first rule in politics is to say nothing until you have all the facts; the second is to keep the country united, especially when lives are at stake.

Romney broke both rules. He tried to capitalise on a tragedy to fit a defined ideological message that the president is anti-American. The next morning he made it worse by maintaining the political attack even as the country was mourning a gifted diplomat.

The tone and the smirk as he left the podium were so off-key, even Peggy Noonan, the Republican loyalist, was reduced to saying on Fox News: "I don't feel Mr Romney has been doing himself any favours, say in the past few hours. Sometimes ... when hot things happen, cool words or no words is the way to go."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/smirking-mitts-meltdown-day/story-fnb64oi6-1226475132067

 

[OldRegular]

This pretty well sums it up.

Sums what up? The total incompetence of the Obamma administration. I would agree CTB. All that pot Obamma smoked as a teenager [perhaps still yet] must have pickled his brain!