The Romney campaign, shifting its line of attack on Barack Obama, has accused the United States President of downplaying the killing of its ambassador in Libya as a mere 'bump in the road,' saying the country's foreign policy under his administration is in 'disarray.'
The Middle East of today, which is experiencing a series of anti-American protests, looks like the Tehran of 1979, Republican Vice Presidential candidate Congressman Paul Ryan, alleged in his remarks at a campaign event in Ohio.
"Turn on the TV and it reminds you of 1979 Tehran, but they are burning our flags in capitals all around the world. They are storming our embassies. We have lost four of our diplomats. And what is the signal that our government is sending the rest of the world? We are being equivocal on our values. We are being slow to speak up for individual rights, for human rights, for democracy. We are seeing countries stifle freedom in Iran, in Russia, in all these other areas," Ryan alleged.
"We are saying we are going to gut our national security, our military. That projects weakness. And when you project American weakness, the superpower projecting weakness, that creates a vacuum. That creates a void. That void gets filled by people and countries who do not share our interests. It means our adversaries are that much more tempted to test us and our allies are much less likely to trust us, like Israel," he said.
"On the eve of his United Nations address, President Obama's foreign policy is in disarray. Just last night, the President downgraded our relationship with Israel and compared the assassination of a US ambassador to bumps in the road," said Ryan Williams, the Romney Campaign spokesman in a statement.
"As anti-American protests rage in the Middle East and Iran moves closer toward nuclear weapons capability, President Obama seems more focused on winning a second term than rebuilding America's strength and position in the world. As president, Mitt Romney will repair our relationships abroad and create a safer, more secure nation for all Americans,"
Williams said.
During a conference a call, organised by the Romney Campaign, House Majority Leader,Eric Cantor, expressed concern over Obama's alleged attitude towards Israel, given his past remarks that began during the initial days or initial months of his presidency, where Israel continues to find itself on the receiving end of harsh language by the President and the White House.
"I think that saying something like that to characterise our closest ally and its position in the Middle East doesn't bode well, I think, for those supporters of the US-Israel relationship and frankly for the President in terms of his leadership in the region," he said.
