Israel Matzav

Romney splits from Obama on Jerusalem and Iran

Noah Pollak sums up the results of Mitt Romney's trip to Israel. While the Obama administration forecast that Romney's trip would be short on substance, that's not true at all. Noah points out that Romney has clearly differentiated himself from Obama on two major foreign policy questions - Jerusalem and Iran - which portend much deeper differences.

Romney went out of his way more than once to refer to Jerusalem as Israel's capital, in contrast to President Obama. Although in 2008 Obama called Jerusalem the “eternal and undivided capital” of Israel, he has backtracked—so thoroughly that State Department and White House spokesmen have been recently caught in painfully awkward exchanges with reporters trying to extract whether Obama recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The controversy has real substance, and Romney’s position has implications far beyond the status of Jerusalem: It is a pledge to stop subordinating American policy and conforming America's treatment of her allies to the desires of the “international community.” No more "engagement" for engagement's sake, which under Obama, like Jimmy Carter before him, is often bad news for Israel.

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On Iran, Obama has been waging a campaign of deterrence against Israeli military action by warning that has administration would withhold support in its aftermath.

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During his trip, Romney said the opposite. His foreign policy advisor, Dan Senor, told reporters: “If Israel has to take action on its own in order to stop Iran from developing that capability the governor would respect that decision.” In his Jerusalem speech, Romney said, "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."

The implication seems clear: While Obama has been undermining the credibility of sanctions and diplomacy by attacking the prospect of military action, a Romney administration would put the Iranian regime on notice that it is not only vulnerable to attack, but that America would stand with its ally should it decide to strike.

Read the whole thing. I was very impressed with what Romney said and did here. I hope he picks the right candidate to run on the ticket with him.

Labels: Campaign 2012, Iranian nuclear threat, Israeli attack on Iran, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Mitt Romney

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:36 PM