“If you fail to identify the ideological component to this fight, if you
fail to identify what your enemy is really fighting for, if you lie
about who they really are, I don’t see how you can possibly have the
right strategy.”
Mitt Romney: A New Course for the Middle East Restore the three sinews of American influence: our economic strength, our military strength and the strength of our values.
Disturbing developments are sweeping across the greater Middle East.
In Syria, tens of thousands of innocent people have been slaughtered. In
Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood has come to power, and the country's
peace treaty with Israel hangs in the balance. In Libya, our ambassador
was murdered in a terrorist attack. U.S. embassies throughout the region
have been stormed in violent protests. And in Iran, the ayatollahs
continue to move full tilt toward nuclear-weapons capability, all the
while promising to annihilate Israel.
These developments are not, as President Obama says, mere "bumps in
the road." They are major issues that put our security at risk.
Yet amid this upheaval, our country seems to be at the mercy of
events rather than shaping them. We're not moving them in a direction
that protects our people or our allies.
And that's dangerous. If the Middle East descends into chaos, if Iran
moves toward nuclear breakout, or if Israel's security is compromised,
America could be pulled into the maelstrom.
We still have time to address these threats, but it will require a new strategy toward the Middle East. read the rest
