Obama has failed on foreign policy, natl security: Romney Camp

Washington: US President Barack Obama has failed on the foreign policy front and protection of national security, the Romney Campaign has alleged. In a memorandum, the Romney Campaign yesterday alleged that Obama has failed on various foreign policy issues, like endangering American mission in Afghanistan and weakening relationship with Pakistan, failing to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons programme and a damaged relationship with Israel. A “reset” with Russia has compromised US interests and values, and the US is getting beaten badly by competitors on trade, in particular with China, the Romney Campaign alleged in its memorandum, released hours before Obama was to deliver his Democratic presidential acceptance speech. “Amidst President Obama’s mistakes, relations with our Afghan partners as well as with Pakistani authorities have frayed. [caption id=“attachment_447264” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Charging Obama Administration of unwise negotiations with the Taliban, the memorandum alleged that Obama has initiated negotiations with the Taliban, at times sidelining America’s Afghan partners from the talks.[/caption] “Relations between President Obama and President Karzai are strained, leading the Afghan president to frequently criticise the American troop presence,” the memorandum written by Lanhee Chen, policy director of the Romney Campaign said. “A number of factors contribute to this state of affairs, but the chief factor is the lack of resolute leadership from President Obama,” the memorandum said. Obama has taken unwise and politically motivated decisions on Afghanistan, which has made it tough for the US to achieve its goals in the war-torn country, it said. “The killing of Osama bin Laden was a landmark in the war on terror for which President Obama deserves credit. “However, the President has made numerous unwise and seemingly politically motivated decisions in Afghanistan that have made it harder to complete our mission of transitioning to an Afghan Army that can defend Afghanistan on its own and ensuring that Afghanistan never again becomes a launching pad for terror like it was on 9/11,” it said. “President Obama has convinced all parties—both our partners and our enemies—that his objective is to leave Afghanistan by a date certain, regardless of the conditions on the ground. “This message has led our Afghan and Pakistani partners to doubt our resolve and hedge their bets rather than fully cooperate with us. And this message has encouraged the Taliban to believe that they can wait us out,” the memorandum alleged. Charging Obama Administration of unwise negotiations with the Taliban, the memorandum alleged that Obama has initiated negotiations with the Taliban, at times sidelining America’s Afghan partners from the talks. “He has done so from a position of weakness in which the Taliban know that surge troops will leave by a date certain, are aware of the end-of-2014 transition timeline, and are still killing our troops. “They know President Obama wants a deal more than they do. In effect, President Obama is negotiating our retreat and emboldening the Taliban,” it said. The memorandum alleged that despite promising as a candidate to advance the Middle East Peace Process, Obama’s actions have halted the Peace Process and greatly damaged the cherished relationship between the US and Israel. High-level talks have not been held since late 2010. “More broadly, it has damaged our credibility not just with our ally Israel, but with other partners that now question whether the United States will stand with them in the future,” the memorandum alleged. “Obama’s failure on the economy has been so severe that it has overshadowed his manifold failures on foreign policy and national security. “An inventory of his record shows that by nearly all measures, President Obama has diminished American influence abroad and compromised our interests and values. In no region of the world is the US position stronger than it was four years ago,” said the memorandum. “Today, Iran is on the cusp of nuclear weapons capability. Such a capability in the hands of the world’s top terrorist sponsoring state poses the greatest threat facing the United States and our friends and allies, and it risks sparking a nuclear arms race across the Middle East, the Campaign said. “Despite promising to “do everything in his power” to stop Iran, four years of President Obama’s irresolute policies have failed to slow the progress of Iran’s programme,” it said. The Romney Campaign alleged that the White House has released a torrent of leaks of classified counterterror information that has compromised national security by revealing covert sources and methods. The pace of the leaks quickened as the November election draw nearer, raising the question of whether they were politically motivated, it said. PTI