In his speech today to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy conference, Mitt Romney attacked President Obama for his stance toward Iran.
“The current administration has promoted a policy of engagement with Iran,” Romney said. “The President offered to sit down with Ahmadinejad during his first year in office without preconditions. He sat silent as Iranian dissidents took to the streets of Tehran, not wanting to disrupt the potential opportunity for dialogue with Iran’s fanatical tyrants. This President not only dawdled in imposing crippling sanctions, he has opposed them.
“Hope is not a foreign policy,” he added. “The only thing respected by thugs and tyrants is our resolve, backed by our power and our readiness to use it.”
He also criticized Obama’s actions toward Israel, arguing that the president had not been supportive toward our ally.
“In recent days and weeks, we’ve heard a lot of words from the administration,” said Romney. “Its clear message has been to warn Israel to consider the costs of military action against Iran. I do not believe that we should be issuing public warnings that create distance between the United States and Israel. Israel does not need public lectures about how to weigh decisions of war and peace. It needs our supports.”
“I will bring the current policy of procrastination toward Iran to an end,” Romney said. “I will not delay in imposing further crippling sanctions, and I will not hesitate to fully implement the ones we currently have. I will make sure Iran knows of the very real peril that awaits if it becomes nuclear. I will engage Iran’s neighbors. I will station multiple carriers and warships at Iran’s door. I will stand with the Syrian people who are being mercilessly slaughtered. I know that the fall of Assad would not only be an important victory for liberty, but also a strategic blow to Tehran.”
Saying that he would “be ready to engage in diplomacy” if elected, Romney added, “But I will be just as ready to engage our military might. Israel will know that America stands at its side, in all conditions and in all consequence.”