Campaign Statements — Mitt Romney

Wednesday September 26, 2012

“Our country seems to be at the mercy of events rather than shaping them”

“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.”

CATEGORIES: The Arab Spring | Mitt Romney |

Tuesday September 25, 2012

” I am often asked why, and what can we do to lead the Middle East to stability”

Many Americans are troubled by the developments in the Middle East. Syria has witnessed the killing of tens of thousands of people. The president of Egypt is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Our Ambassador to Libya was assassinated in a terrorist attack. And Iran is moving toward nuclear weapons capability. We feel that we are at the mercy of events, rather than shaping events.

I am often asked why, and what can we do to lead the Middle East to stability, to ease the suffering and the anger and the hate.

CATEGORIES: The Arab Spring | Mitt Romney |

Tuesday September 18, 2012

“the Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in establishing peace”

“I’m torn by two perspectives in this regard. One is the one which I’ve had for some time, which is that the Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in establishing peace, and that the pathway to peace is almost unthinkable to accomplish… And I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say, “There’s just no way.” And so what you can do, you say, “You can move things along the best way you can.” You hope for some degree of stability, but you recognize that this is going to remain an unsolved problem. We live with that in China and Taiwan. All right, we have a potentially volatile situation but we sort of life with it and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it. We don’t go to war to try and resolve it imminently. On the other hand, I got a call from a former secretary of state. I won’t mention who it was but this individual said to me, you know, I think there’s a prospect for a settlement between the Palestinians and theIsraelis after the Palestinian elections. I said, “Really?” And, you know, his answer was, “Yes, I think there’s some prospect.” And I didn’t delve into it.ʺ

CATEGORIES: Israel/Palestine | Mitt Romney |

Monday September 17, 2012

“Encouraging our friends… like the Turks and the Saudis to provide weapons to insurgents in Syria”

ʺInstead of watching what’s happening in Syria from a dispassionate distance, I would be leading in Syria by encouraging our friends there like the Turks and the Saudis to provide weapons to the insurgents in Syria

CATEGORIES: Mitt Romney | Syria |

Friday September 14, 2012

“I think people should have the common courtesy…not to offend other peoples’ faiths”

I think the whole film is a terrible idea. I think him making it, promoting it showing it is disrespectful to people of other faiths. I don’t think that should happen. I think people should have the common courtesy and judgment– the good judgment– not to be– not to offend other peoples’ faiths. It’s a very bad thing, I think, this guy’s doing.

CATEGORIES: Islamophobia | Mitt Romney |

Wednesday September 12, 2012

“We must strive to ensure that the Arab spring does not become an Arab winter”

Over the last several years, we’ve stood witness to an Arab spring that presents an opportunity for a more peaceful and prosperous, but also poses the potential for peril if the forces of extremism and violence are allowed to control the course of events. We must strive to ensure that the Arab spring does not become an Arab winter.”

CATEGORIES: The Arab Spring | Mitt Romney |

Monday September 10, 2012

“We need to use every resource we have to dissuade them from their nuclear path”

ʺI don’t think we live with a nuclear Iran… I think we make it very clear that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable to the United States of America, to civilized nations throughout the world. And that we will maintain every option that’s available to us to keep that from happening.ʺ
ʺWe need to use every resource we have to dissuade them from their nuclear path. But that doesn’t mean that we would take off the table our military option. That’s something which certainly every American would hope we would never have to use. But we have to maintain it on the table or Iran will, undoubtedly, continue their treacherous course.ʺ

CATEGORIES: Iran | Mitt Romney |

Wednesday September 05, 2012

” I will restore our relationship with Israel and stand shoulder to shoulder with our close ally”

ʺunfortunate that the entire Democratic Party has embraced President Obama’s shameful refusal to acknowledge that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.ʺ  ʺFour years of President Obama’s repeated attempts to create distance between the United States and our cherished ally have led the Democratic Party to remove from their platform an unequivocal acknowledgment of a simple reality,ʺ he said. ʺAs president, I will restore our relationship with Israel and stand shoulder to shoulder with our close ally.ʺ

CATEGORIES: Israel/Palestine | Mitt Romney |

Thursday August 30, 2012

“American is less secure today because he has failed to slow Iran’s nuclear threat”

Every American was relieved the day President Obama gave the order, and Seal Team Six took out Osama bin Laden. But on another front, every American is less secure today because he has failed to slow Iran’s nuclear threat.

In his first TV interview as president, he said we should talk to Iran. We’re still talking, and Iran’s centrifuges are still spinning.

CATEGORIES: Iran | Mitt Romney |