Romney has tried to dredge up the standard-issue Cold War Republican attack on Democrats: the world is dangerous, our enemies are growing strong and Obama is weak. The problem is, most Americans recognize that none of this is true. The world is actually quite peaceful right now; our adversaries – like Iran – are weak and isolated. China is growing strong but has not used its power to contest America in national security terms. The one enemy Americans recognize and worry about remains al Qaeda and its affiliated Islamic terrorist groups, and Obama has been relentless in attacking them.
Mitt Romney is a smart man who has had much professional success. But even Republican insiders have admitted to me that he has been strangely amateurish on foreign policy. His campaign, they note, is not staffed by the obvious foreign policy heavyweights – people like Robert Zoellick, Richard Armitage, Richard Haass and Stephen Hadley. As a result, he has blustered about Russia’s being our greatest geopolitical adversary (actually it is a second-rate power), seems willing to start a trade war with China, is vague yet belligerent about Syria and Iran and has gone back and forth on the timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan.
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I laiki obama on is stepun
Mr. Zakaria is simply the best in the business.
I have always considered Mr. Zakaria to be a very smart man, in every article I've read or show I watched.
That's why I was taken aback when I read "Mitt Romney is a very smart man who has much professional success" in this article. I guess the 2nd half of that sentence is true. Nothing Romney has done so far seems smart, presidential, politically wise. I'm sayin' "ROMNEY DOESN'T HAVE A LICK OF HORSE SENSE, (but he's got an expensive horse.)
I know you are too professional to say this, Mr. Zakaria. Let me say it for you... Mitt romney is what many Americans fear the most for America!
Nothing Robme does works!!!!!! Not even himself!!!!! Others have always done Robme's work!!!! Hahahahahahahahahaha
Practice some Spanish, say "Obama me mama" over and over!... Try it, it might catch on!
Try not to suck so much GOP dick.
You are wrong about Iran.
It is NOT weak. Once it possesses nuclear weapon EVERYTHING changes.
Not necessarily to Israel, but rather to us and to the Sunni world.
This has disaster written all over it.
Iran is not even a first rate power in the Middle East. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and of course Israel are all more powerful.. Nuclear weapons will shift the balance of power, but superpower Iran is not. Nuclear weapons will unite Iran's enemies. Certainly, an Iran with nuclear weapons would not be good, but there are always silver linings to be had through diplomacy.
Besides, a strike on Iran would unite the Middle East and North Africa against Israel and the United States. Our diplomatic efforts in the region would be set back decades, the currently divided Iranian government and people would be united, and nothing short of a land invasion would guarantee that they would not continue to develop the weapons. We do not have the resources for a land invasion. I don't want to see more of our military die for the mistakes of politicians that don't understand the region. President Obama has managed to damage their facilities with stuxnet, get China and Russia to economically sanction Iran, and get Europe to refuse to buy a drop of Iran's oil. Iran's leadership is divided. Its people are restless, and its government is crumbling. How could Governor Romney handle it better?
You mean all these countries do not hate Israel first and foremost?
The thing that is funny about these muslim countries is that although they hate Jews more than they love their own children, they hate each other just as much. In the muslim world, there is enough hate to go around for everyone!
I could not agree more. To add, the overseas trip Romney is taking only serves to remind us that he has a horse at the Olympics, that President Obama initiated a virus at the Iranian nuclear facility that set them back years and that this war weary nation is not ready for another war in the Middle East. And to Mr. Romney... Good luck selling those marbles!!
Blunders, clangers, Romney loves to drop them all. London's mayor Boris Johnson greeted some 60,000 people gathering in Hyde Park, as they gave a rapturous welcome to the Olympic flame, which finally arrived in London on the eve of the opening. Johnson fired up a large crowd saying: "There's a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we're ready. Are we ready?" He went on and told the crowd that the UK would win loads of gold, silver and bronze, enough to bail out Greece and Spain together.
Then he asked the crowd: "Can we put on the greatest olympic games? Yes we can!"
The last words echoed. They sound familiar, don't they?
The reason thet Mytt Robmey's attacks on Killer O'Bama's foreign policies won't work is simply because Robmey himself has nothing new to offer. Instead, he'll go on butchering people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen with those killer drones and Cobra attack helicoptors without any mercy just like Killer O'Bama's doing right now! Besides, he'll work just as hard for the M.I.C. as Killer O'Bama!!!
Thank you, Travis. How true your statement rings!
The American invasion of Afghanistan brought to the forefront the irrelevance of India as a nation. With a population of over 1.2 billion people there was no value that this nation could bring to the table. Their soldiers (ragtag) 1.2million continue hiding in the trenches scared from Talibans. A few teenage Talibans invaded the country and held it hostage for days on end showing how useless India is. It was embarrasing for the world to observe this humiliation of a nation that was being touted as a regional power. The Talibans brought them down in a few days with some BB guns. It is all over for India. Its demise is in process and should be completed with Afghanistan withdrawal.
The bottom line is that the only way to have peace in Afghanistan and lessen regional tension is split India into pieces. It has become too big to govern or create any value for western countries or even for its own population. We have invested a lot of resources in India over the past two decades and given a lot of aid to prop it up. There has been no investment on this return. Instead India has squandered all the resources in building nuclear weapons while poverty remains rampant in the country. We need to revisit our relationship with India. American taxpayers will not tolerate this anymore. We need to take care of our own populace going forward. We cannot be exporting jobs to India or giving it financial or technical handouts.
You can say that again. I am done with sending my money to these loser nations as India? Hindustan? (same thing?)
He is a joke, a pathetic shadow of what republicans USED to stand for. He is an embarrassment for the USA and as an outsider I just wish I could cast a vote against him. The only people who will vote for him are either too dumb to understand politics or too greedy to care about anything outside their own bank account (wherever it may be).
I'm counting on it!!!!!
Quite the problem with democracy: often enough, one can't vote against a silly offer without backing someone unintended...
Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.
WINSTON CHURCHILL, speech, Nov. 11, 19
you have hit the nail on the head girl!!!
The reason these attacks won't work, one way or the other is because people already made up their minds a long, long, time ago who they're going to vote for! Romney will defeat the usurper Obama in the fall, and the country will start moving forward at last!
Thank you rangerralph, for the above comment. I too plan to kill my share of these nasty towelheads myself. Thank goodness for the ignorance of the average voter or otherwise neither me nor any of the Tea Partiers would stand a chance at the polls!!!
Ranger thinks he's a rich republican and that the republicans actually care about him. Hehehehehehehe
yes the country will start moving to the last place,
this makes me nt miss gps, sundays 14hrs zambian time..
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Perhaps Romney has a nitch intelligence – capitalism without conscience. However, he hasn't demonstrated much understanding or skill in addressing either individuals or issues on the foriegn stage. He's breathaking in his awkward handling of almost any interactions with other people. I can't image such a bozo representing the US.
Romney attacks Obama, Obama counter attacks Romney, Romney counter-counter attacks Obama, and so on and so on. And we do it all over again, 4 years from now, 8 years from now, 12 years from now, different players, but the same senseless attacks and counter attacks.
true
whoever to be the next president of USA is not going to the direction of America is going. USA is falling, it is a one way street, no going back, like or not, this is true, face the fact!
Dont count out his outsourcing experience as an important foreign policy strategy.
Zak might as well be named the official mouthpiece for the Obama campaign
Surpriced to turn to see the Olympics and see the face of Robme. Seems so arrogant to think the teams need his support to wave to them? Is he promoting a movie trailer: stardom and stroking his own ego. why is he there that has noting to do with foreign policy. In a nut shell: he takes the trip first class to UK/ security/ double the lx hotel / first class seats in the stadium/ tv coverage / his promotors etc/ party an travel cloths/ and then there is you..........trying to fill your gas tank to get the kids to school, store and work if it is still there........while mr Robme waives to cheer for the olympic players over seas.....in his first class seat! to promote himself..........
I think Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is operating an admirable foreign policy program whilst the president is off doing. . .campaigning.
Thank you, Matt A. for your support of my anti-Islam policies overseas and for your support of Hilary Clinton for strong-arming these other countries into supporting us in killing those nasrty towelheads over in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen. Yes, I do need to campaign for reelection or otherwise this Mitt Robme may beat me in November!
Hilary Clinton operating an "admirable" foreign policy program? Somehow I don't quite think so!
All Republican Presidents since Eisenhower have invaded a least one foreign country without being asked – would Mitt Romney actually be different? Guess who he's got his sights on?
P.S. Eisenhower also invaded a foreign country but some idiot there asked him to help.
Killer: Who said anything about anti–Muslim policies? In Syria, I'd much prefer methods to prevent a massacre.
You'll notice we've stayed silent –in the military sense– in Syria. The Saudis and Qatarans are handling the weapons issue for the opposition as near as I can tell. Rumor is the U.S. directing their deployment–from Turkey.
When the poor, young men join Al-Qaeda–largely because of outsized financial compensation–there are many questions to be asked.
Whose funding these operations? The usual suspects would be governments or billionaires. Follow the money.
I'm not an advocate of invading nations without provocation: 9/11 changed a few things, not necessarily for the better.
See budget deficit and list of dead and single, double, and triple amputees–to name a few deleterious consequences.
Ask some Middle East leaders, and they're happy the West is engaged there.
The attacks on Mitt Romney may be irrelevant. The U.S. has been heavily engaged in Middle East affairs since the carter years, if no sooner.
Admirable, in the sense we've avoided all out American involvement in the Syrian conflict. Whether that lasts, is up to the President, other Western and Middle East leaders.
My preference is probably equal to most here responding: to get out of there–permanently.
Amen to that, again more NATO killed today.That is nr 44 this month, not to mention the suicides daily of vets deployed SWA wars. That is thanks to Mr.Bush the republican that sets up that USA looses its great imago world wide so now that mr. Obama tries to restore the good American intentions and fundaments it was built on do not stand him in the way: support him to get the USA where it has a change to live out where it once stood for and move forward in its persuit of happiness for all: not just the rich Robney club members who's members only count when owning biljns of $$$$$$. Squized out of foreign policies benefitting their own wallet...no trickling into yours!!!!! safety is a net made by the people: we the people means form all for all!
Romney has no clue about dealing with foreign nations. His expertise is investments. Romney refuses to release his tax returns because if the citizens find out Romney invested his money in the war machine he would not be elected as dog catcher.Romney deducted 77,000 for his horses,IRS accepted his deduction and told millions of citizens that driving to work is not an allowable deduction.Does any see anything wrong with this ? I must be crazy to think my fuel expenses are not allowable deductions but horses are?
Well said, george.
Foreign policy is not the only thing that Romney could be a disaster at, he and the GOP would probably push us into recession again as they concentrate even more wealth in the hands of their cherished "successful ones". A bigger hurdle will be selling America "democracy" to a world that is painfully aware that we are no longer, in effect, a democracy icon, as both our mayor parties are funded by they same crowd of big money players, which makes us a plutocracy (or oligarchy), pretty much like England in the mercantilistic days of merry King George.
Republican candidate don't look like a sarcastic Harman cain presidency but it doesn't look like a winning candidate. I don't think republican establishment wanted a republican president at this time. Republican candidate is doing what he knows best. He was always able to make his investors tons of money all his life. He's doing exactly that during his candidaccy. I think Obama campaign or democratic workers wish they were working for this candidate because money is unlimited. I don't think they worry about losing presidency because republicans are not in it to win it this time.
You are seriously p i s s e d that Romney showed Israel a whole lot of love!
ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...
If it is not about the "win" than what is it about? Is the Robme club just providing donations to have him travel the world firstting class and meeting heads of states ?
This is exactly showing how these millions of donations provide a service for one and serve others as a tax deduction( write off )its a beneficial game exclusively for the super rich. Seems more like a game from AncientGreek; The Gods play and we are their players...............thrown in the arena and let loose the lions!!!!!! as they watch us suffer....the sage continues.
Good analysis, Fareed. It's always good to read your comments to thereby get a feel for "establishment" thinking. You reflect fairly accurately the East Coast liberal worldview and your columns are a touchstone for how this group thinks collectively.
Obama doesn't even need to campaign against Romney. All he has to do is sit back and watch Romney insult more countries as he goes from one to the next.
Seems odd. Most people (blogiators included) seem unaware that Gov. Romney's foreign affairs experience actually consists of preaching to the French. The French, being French, are not a very good template for the way people in the rest of the world actually think or act. This, I think, explains how Mitt ended up crosswise to the Brits. He thought they were like Frenchpeople. Big error. Same as the previous president thinking that Iraqis and Afghanis were freedom-and-democracy-loving Texans. These candidates really need to get out more!
Zakaria is the last of the real journalist left. He tells the truth about the lay of the land. The average american along with the rest of the world see Romney for what and who he really is. I am incline to say that, a lot of republicans also see Romney as a waste of time. We all know that President Obama is the right leader for this time and is on the right side of history. That day is coming when all eyes will witness the finale fall of the republican party if they continue to promote Romney above the interest of the American people.