Mitt Romney Remarks in Israel

Mitt Romney, the presumptive GOP presidential candidate, next travels to Poland on the last leg of his three-country campaign tour.

On Monday, he will meet with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and former President Lech Walesa as well as visit historical sites. On Tuesday, he is scheduled to meet with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and President Bronislaw Komorowski as well as deliver a speech while in Warsaw.

Over the weekend, Romney arrived in Israel?following a visit to England that drew mixed reviews.

Mitt Romney reiterated the current U.S. policy towards Israel during his address on Sunday to the Jerusalem Foundation.? "We recognize Israel's right to defend itself," Romney told the audience, "and that it is right for America to stand with you."

Introduced by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Romney quickly focused on the nuclear threat posed by Iran, saying that "the ayatollahs in Tehran are testing our moral defenses." He stressed that preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons "must be our highest national security priority." And while he expressed the hope that "diplomatic and economic measures" would stop Iran, he stated that "no option should be excluded."

According to the Washington Post, Romney seemed to stand back from? pre-speech comments made by one of his foreign policy advisors. Dan Senor told reporters that Romney would "respect" a pre-emptive strike?if the Israeli military should?attack Iran, a position the Obama administration disagrees with. Romney has said that he wanted to avoid the appearance of changing U.S. foreign policy while he is outside of the country.

Romney met with U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before his speech and, later in the day, with President Shimon Peres, the leader of the opposition party, as well as other Israeli political party officials. The trip is his fourth visit to Israel.

Thursday, he met with British Prime Minster David Cameron at his London home at 10 Downing Street and then held a brief news conference with reporters.

He said that he would not criticize President Obama's foreign policies while abroad but did tell reporters about some of the issues he discussed with the Prime Minister. "We did speak at some length about Syria, about Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, as well as Pakistan, Afghanistan, among other places in the world, and spoke about the developments in Syria,? he said. ?I don?t want to refer to any comments made by leaders representing other nations, nor do I want to describe foreign policy positions I might have while I?m on foreign soil.?

He also clarified his recent remarks on work of the Olympic organizing committee's efforts in London and cited his experience as the organizer of the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. "There are always a few very small things that end up going not quite right in the first day or so. Those get ironed out and then when the games themselves begin and the athletes take over all the mistakes that the organizing committee ? and I made, a few ? all of those are overwhelmed by the many things that the athletes carry out that capture the spirit of the games,? he said. ?I don?t know of any Olympics that?s been able to be run without any mistakes whatsoever.?

He later met Thursday with Former British Prime Tony Blair as well as British, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Labour Party Leader Ed Miliband, Foreign Secretary William Hague, and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.

His first day overseas on Wednesday included campaign fundraisers in London and gave an interview to Brian Williams of NBC News where he made the controversial comments about the Olympic Games.

Friday, the former Governor met with Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny and U.S. Olympic athletes before attending the 2012 Olympic opening ceremonies.

Romney outlined his foreign policy this past Tuesday in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno, Nevada where he talked about his plans for future U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan.

Last Monday, the Obama campaign held a conference call with reporters in advance of Mitt Romney?s trip overseas, Obama for America Senior Advisor and Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was joined on the call by former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy and Colin Kahl, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East.

Source: http://www.c-span.org/Campaign2012/Events/Mitt-Romney-Remarks-in-Israel/10737432628-4/

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