Governor Romney on Iraq
Gov. Romney Stresses The Importance Of Winning In Iraq And Defeating Radical Islam Globally. "The congressional debate in Washington has largely, and myopically, focused on whether troops should be redeployed from Iraq to Afghanistan, as if these were isolated issues. Yet the jihad is much broader than any one nation, or even several nations. ... The jihadist threat is the defining challenge of our generation and is symptomatic of a range of new global realities." (Gov. Mitt Romney, "Rising To A New Generation Of Global Challenges," Foreign Affairs, July/August 2007)
ABC'S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "National security, you're a management consultant again. You've come into the United States looking at the commander-in-chief. Do you keep him or let him go?"
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Well, you have to look at Iraq and Iraq was superbly executed in terms of taking down Saddam Hussein's government. But I think everybody recognizes, from the president to Tony Blair to Secretary Rumsfeld that post the period of major conflict, we had major problems in the way we've managed the war in Iraq, and that has contributed to much of the difficulty we have today. It was under-planned, under-prepared, under-staffed, too low a level of troops, under-managed."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "But how do you explain why all that planning wasn't done? President Bush is a Harvard MBA, too."
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Well, everybody has their own management style and their own approach and I respect enormously the approach other people. Mine is just different. And if you read "Cobra II" and "Assassins' Gate" and "Looming Tower" and some of the reports of the events leading up not only to 9/11, but to the conflict itself, there's a sense that we really weren't ready for the post major conflict period. And that has resulted in a blossoming of the sectarian violence, of insurgents within the country and from without, and a setting which is a very troubled, difficult position."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "Yet, you support the president's decision to send more troops right now."
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Yeah."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "How much time do you give it to work?"
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Well, it's not years. I think you're going to know within months."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "Mayor Giuliani said the other night he's not confident it's going to work. Are you?"
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Well, you know, I think it's hard to predict whether this troop surge will work, but I'm absolutely confident it's the right thing to do."
"I agree with the President: Our strategy in Iraq must change. Our military mission, for the first time, must include securing the civilian population from violence and terror. It is impossible to defeat the insurgency without first providing security for the Iraqi people. Civilian security is the precondition for any political and economic reconstruction.
"In consultation with Generals, military experts and troops who have served on the ground in Iraq, I believe securing Iraqi civilians requires additional troops. I support adding five brigades in Baghdad and two regiments in Al-Anbar province. Success will require rapid deployment.
"This effort should be combined with clear objectives and milestones for U.S. and Iraqi leaders.
"The road ahead will be difficult but success is still possible in Iraq. I believe it is in America's national security interest to achieve it."
Mitt Romney comments on the Iraq War during a visit to Pittsburgh