JERUSALEM — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney vowed Sunday to stand with Israel against any threat from Iran, eager to show that he’s a better friend than President Barack Obama.
“We must lead the effort to prevent Iran from building and possessing nuclear weapons capability,” Romney said. “We should employ any and all measures to dissuade the Iranian regime from its nuclear course. And it is our fervent hope that diplomatic and economic measures will do so. 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.”
He said the tough talk from a possible U.S. president is critical to let Iran’s leaders know that they face unified and unrelenting opposition to their plans.
“Make no mistake, the ayatollahs in Iran are testing our moral defenses,” he said. “They want to know who will object and who will look the other way. We will not look away nor will our country ever look away from our passion and commitment to Israel.”
Romney did not specify any significant policy difference from Obama, who also refuses to rule out military action as a last resort.
But he drew an unspoken distinction with Obama, who has complained about open talk of warfare to stop Iran. Obama in March said there was “too much loose talk of war.”
“It is sometimes said that those who are the most committed to stopping the Iranian regime from securing nuclear weapons are reckless and provocative and inviting war,” Romney said. “The opposite is true. We are the true peacemakers.”
In a distraction from his message of the day, Romney had to back away from a statement from a top adviser promising support for unilateral Israeli military action against Iran.
“If Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing that capability, the governor would respect that decision,” said Romney’s senior foreign policy advisor Dan Senor.
Several hours later, the Romney campaign issued a clarification.
“Gov. Romney believes we should employ any and all measures to dissuade the Iranian regime from its nuclear course, and it is his fervent hope that diplomatic and economic measures will do so,” Senor said an email. “In the final analysis, of course, no option should be excluded. Gov. Romney recognizes Israel’s right to defend itself, and that it is right for America to stand with it.”
In a move that surprised Israeli officials, Romney in his speech called Jerusalem the capital of Israel, telling the audience, “It is deeply moving to be in Jerusalem — the capital of Israel.”
The United States does not recognize Jerusalem as the capital, and the US embassy has remained in Tel Aviv despite repeated requests by Israel to move it to Jerusalem. The White House this week dodged questions about Israel’s capital, mindful that the status is a major point of peace negotiations. Palestinian leaders maintain that East Jerusalem will be the capital of their future state and that the city is currently a “divided capital.”
Romney was warmly embraced by Israeli officials Sunday, starting with a visit with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The prime minister, who has wrestled with Obama, pointedly dismissed the effectiveness of Obama’s efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear programs through sanctions. “The sanctions and diplomacy so far have not set back the Iranian program by one iota,” Netanyahu said.
Romney also discussed Iran in meetings with Israeli President Shimon Peres and opposition leader Shaul Mofaz.
Romney also traveled to the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism, and donned traditional headgear to walk with several of Israel’s most prominent rabbis to the wall.
He was greeted enthusiastically by many in the crowd, who were observing the Jewish holy day of Tisha B’Av. Many in the crowd approached Romney to shake his hand, while others could be heard shouting “Beat Obama, governor,” and “Good luck!”
Ann Romney visited the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus was said to have prayed the night before he was crucified, and the Garden Tomb, believed by some to be the site of his burial and resurrection.
Republican advocates in Jerusalem said that Romney’s message was aimed at winning support from Jewish American voters.
“When it comes to protecting American interests and the interests of the Israeli people, the Republican party has been a stalwart and loyal friend to Israel and the Jewish people for the past several administrations. That is something we want to bring home to the Jewish voters of the United States,” said Marc Zell, co-chairman of Republicans Abroad in Israel.
On Monday morning, , Romney was scheduled to hold a fundraiser in Jerusalem’s King David Hotel. Guests paid $50,000 per couple, or pledged to raise $100,000 for Romney’s campaign.
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©2012 McClatchy Washington Bureau
Looks like Nowhere Man, Mitt the Twit Romney made it out alive from Britain. Lets see how many Israelis he will offend?
A ‘unified front’ ? Someone please tell me when Romney was elevated to the post of US Gov’t spokeperson and has the authority to, on his own, make and publish US foreign policy ? Am I at all happy that Iran is working on a working nuke, and has a major ‘nutcase’ in charge of the ‘little red key’ ? No. Am I all for a continuing diplomatic effort to try and get this problem under control ? Very much so, as I am very much in favor of leting the Intelligence Agencies work to try and prevent this from happening. Maybe, had this these types of foresight, and action when neccessary, been used back in 1936, we might not have had to go to war in Europe. But history has made it’s judgement. One can hope that we all might be a bit wiser this time around, having seen and learned from the mistakes of the past.
But nowhere does Romney have the authority to make policy statement’s under the guise of speaking for the American Government, or it’s people, without either formal permission and authority, or at least a signed Executive Order to that effect out there for all to see. To do so put’s the entire Country, regardless of the election’s outcome, at risk just so he can make a bigger ‘splash’ in the media. And people wonder what kind of character he’s going to bring to the White House in the event he wins ? Well here it is, live on every media channel he can find to cover him, Mitt’s ego finally surpassing both the national interest and the voter’s decision a full 100 days before the Election. Now, don’t we have that ‘warm and fuzzy feeling’ right about now ?
Romney has recruited a number of people who worked for Bush and Cheney to advise him on national security issues and foreign policy. That should scare the hell out of anyone.
What’s worse is that Senor is on Morning Joe almost every 3 days, spouting more of Romney’s menusha as if it were written Gospel from on high. Scare, no. Terrify, hell yes ! And this is the same guy who advised Cheney, along with Libby, in the Valerie Plame mess. And that’s an example of his foreign policy judgement and expertiese ? Abandon ship while you can, before your ship hit’s that iceberg.
Campaigning and raising money in Israel? Now we have to worry about offshore money leaking into our elections.
With Adelson’s Chinese casino’s providing Adelson almost unlimited amount’s of untraceable cash, as was shown with Adelson pumping in how much to Gingrich, does anyone really believe that the Chinese aren’t going to use this as a way to pump in Chinese money to Romney’s campaign ? If so, I have a bridge to sell you, cheap !