2012 U.S. Presidential Campaign: Governor Mitt Romney

US-Israel Relationship  -  Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process  -  Palestinain Statehood  -  Threat from Iran

US-Israel Relationship

"We need to make sure as well that we coordinate this effort [regarding Syria] with our allies and particularly with — with — with Israel."
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

"We have to also stand by our allies. I think the tension that existed between Israel and the United States was very unfortunate."
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

" ... when I’m president of the United States, we will stand with Israel. And — and if Israel is attacked, we have their back, not just diplomatically, not just culturally, but militarily. That’s number one."
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

" ... I mean, the president received a letter from 38 Democrat senators saying the tensions with Israel were a real problem."
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

"I will reaffirm our historic ties to Israel and our abiding commitment to its security — the world must never see any daylight between our two nations."
- Foreign policy speech at the Virginia Military Institute (October 8, 2012)

"I will...work with Israel to increase our military assistance and coordination."
- Foreign policy speech at the Virginia Military Institute (October 8, 2012)

"The same incomprehension afflicts the president's policy toward Israel. The president began his term with the explicit policy of creating 'daylight' between our two countries. He recently downgraded Israel from being our 'closest ally' in the Middle East to being only 'one of our closest allies.' It's a diplomatic message that will be received clearly by Israel and its adversaries alike. He dismissed Israel's concerns about Iran as mere 'noise' that he prefers to 'block out.' And at a time when Israel needs America to stand with it, he declined to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."
- Wall Street Journal (September 30, 2012)

"In this period of uncertainty, we need to apply a coherent strategy of supporting our partners in the Middle East—that is, both governments and individuals who share our values."
- Wall Street Journal (September 30, 2012)

"America is going to stand by friends, that it is better to be a friend of America than to be a foe of America, and I think that means that our relationship with Israel should be one which the world sees as being extraordinarily close, where we share objectives."
- High Holidays Conference Call (September 25, 2012)

"I think [the United States] also have to communicate that Israel is our ally. Our close ally. The president's decision not to meet with Bibi Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, when the Prime Minister is here for the United Nations session, I think, is a mistake and it sends a message throughout the Middle East that somehow we distance ourselves from our friends and I think the exact opposite approach is what's necessary."
- Interview with '60 Minutes' (September 23, 2012)

"In a Romney administration, the world will know that the bond between Israel and America is unbreakable."
- AIPAC Policy Conference (March 6, 2012)

"The best way to have peace in the Middle East is not for us to vacillate and to appease, but is to say, we stand with our friend Israel. We are committed to a Jewish state in Israel. We will not have an inch of difference between ourselves and our ally, Israel."
- Republican Presidential Debate (January 26, 2012)

“I will travel to Israel on my first foreign trip. I will reaffirm as a vital national interest Israel’s existence as a Jewish state. I want the world to know that the bonds between Israel and the United States are unshakable."
- Republican Jewish Coalition Presidential Candidates Forum (December 6, 2011)

"My view is that [President Obama] threw Israel under the bus by laying out his view of the policies he thought Israel should adopt in the piece process. I believe that the role of an ally is to stand behind your friends and let them speak for themselves, rather than be spoken for by the United States of America. I believe our relationship with Israel, a nation which shares our values and is our best friend in the Middle East, should be of support and confidence rather than criticism and blame."
- Interview with Israel Hayom (October 28, 2011)

"The right course, if you disagree with an ally, you talk about it privately. But in public, you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with your allies. The right course for us ... The right course for us is not to try and negotiate for Israel. The right course is to stand behind our friends, to listen to them, and to let the entire world know that we will stay with them and that we will support them and defend them."
- Republican Presidential Debate (September 22, 2011)

“American and Israel are bound together by common committments and shared values ... and because we share the same values, we also share many of the same adversaries ... We know that Israel is America’s most ardent ally in the Middle East."
- AIPAC Conference San Diego (October 19, 2009)

"I will begin discussions with Israel to increase the level of our military assistance and coordination ... I will reaffirm as a vital national interest Israel’s existence as a Jewish state."
- Mitt Romney Official Website

Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

"Is — are Israel and the Palestinians closer to — to reaching a peace agreement? No, they haven’t had talks in two years. We have not seen the progress we need to have, and I’m convinced that with strong leadership and an effort to build a strategy based upon helping these nations reject extremism, we can see the kind of peace and prosperity the world demands."
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

"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."
- Private fundraiser quotation published by Mother Jones (May 17, 2012)

"Well, the reason that there’s not peace between the Palestinians and Israel is because there is — in the leadership of the Palestinian people are Hamas and others who think like Hamas, who have as their intent the elimination of Israel. And whether it’s in school books that teach how to kill Jews, or whether it’s in the political discourse that is spoken either from Fatah or from Hamas, there is a belief that the Jewish people do not have a right to have a Jewish state."
- Republican Presidential Debate (January 26, 2012)

"There are some people who say, should we have a two-state solution? And the Israelis would be happy to have a two-state solution. It’s the Palestinians who don’t want a two-state solution. They want to eliminate the state of Israel."
- Republican Presidential Debate (January 26, 2012)

"That the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is the central problem in the region [as the Obama Administration sees it] ... has been disproved repeatedly by events, most recently and most dramatically by the eruption of the Arab Spring."
- Mitt Romney Offical Website

"I want every country in the region that harbors aggressive designs against Israel to understand that their ambition is futile and that pursuing it will cost them dearly."
- Republican Jewish Coalition Presidential Candidates Forum (December 6, 2011)

Palestinian Statehood

With regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mitt Romney will reject any measure that would frustrate direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. He will make clear to the Palestinians that the unilateral attempt to decide issues that are designated for final negotiations is unacceptable.
-Mitt Romney Official Website

"The United States will reduce assistance to the Palestinians if they continue to pursue United Nations recognition or form a unity government that includes Hamas, a terrorist group dedicated to Israel’s destruction."
-Mitt Romney Official Website

"In his speech to the U.N. this week, President Obama ... must make clear that if the Palestinian Authority succeeds in gaining any type of U.N. recognition, the United States will cut foreign assistance to the Palestinians, as well as re-evaluate its funding of U.N. programs and its relationship with any nation voting in favor of recognition. Actions that compromise the interests of the United States, our allies, and all those who desire a lasting peace must have consequences."
- Mitt Romney Official Website (September 20, 2011)

Iran

"Syria is Iran’s only ally in the Arab world. It’s their route to the sea. It’s the route for them to arm Hezbollah in Lebanon, which threatens, of course, our ally Israel."
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

" ... there’s no question but that a nuclear Iran, a nuclear-capable Iran, is unacceptable to America."
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

"I look at what’s happening around the world and I see Iran four years closer to a bomb."
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

" ... Iran is the greatest national security threat we face."
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

"It’s also essential for us to understand what our mission is in Iran, and that is to dissuade Iran from having a nuclear weapon through peaceful and diplomatic means."
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

" ... I would tighten those sanctions. I would say that ships that carry Iranian oil can’t come into our ports."
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

"We need to increase pressure time and time again on Iran ... "
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

" ... it’s essential for a president to show strength from the very beginning to make it very clear what is acceptable and not acceptable. And an Iranian nuclear program is not acceptable to us. They must not develop nuclear capability."
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

" ... the greatest threat that the world faces, the greatest national security threat, is a nuclear Iran."
- Third Presidential Debate in Florida (October 22, 2012)

"We have Iran four years closer to a nuclear bomb."
- Second Presidential Town Hall Debate (October 16, 2012)

"My own test is that Iran should not have the capability of producing a nuclear weapon. I think that's the same test that Benjamin Netanyahu would also apply...I think that there has to be a recognition that there are boundaries that the Iranians may not cross."
- Interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN (October 9, 2012)

"Let's also recognize that we have a long way to go before military action may be necessary. And, hopefully, it's never necessary. Hopefully, through extremely tight sanctions, as well as diplomatic action, we can prevent Iran from taking a course which would -- which would lead to -- to them crossing that line."
- Interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN (October 9, 2012)

"For the sake of peace, we must make clear to Iran through actions — not just words — that their nuclear pursuit will not be tolerated."
- Foreign policy speech at the Virginia Military Institute (October 8, 2012)

"In this period of uncertainty, we need to apply a coherent strategy of supporting our partners in the Middle East—that is, both governments and individuals who share our values. This means restoring our credibility with Iran. When we say an Iranian nuclear-weapons capability—and the regional instability that comes with it—is unacceptable, the ayatollahs must be made to believe us."
- Wall Street Journal (September 30, 2012)

"I do not believe that in the final analysis we [the United States] will have to use military action. I certainly hope we don't have to. I can't take that option off the table -- it must be something which is known by the Iranians as a possible tool to be employed to prevent them from becoming nuclear. But I certainly hope that we can prevent any military action from having to be taken."
- New York Times (September 28, 2012)

"For me the red line is nuclear capability. We do not want them to have the capacity of building a bomb that threatens ourselves, our friends, or the world ... I think we should indict Ahmedinejad under the Genocide Convention for incitation to genocide, I think that he, and I think the diplomats of Iran should be treated like the pariah they are anywhere they go in the world, I believe that they should be treated the same way we treated South Africa during apartheid."
- High Holidays Conference Call (September 25, 2012)

"America must lead the world in stopping Iran’s genocidal regime from obtaining a nuclear weapons capability. Ahmadinejad’s latest outrageous remarks [on August 17, 2012, before al-Quds Day] are just another reminder of what is at stake."
- Remarks to the Faith and Freedom Coalition (June 16, 2012)

"In a Romney administration, the world will know ... that our opposition to a nuclear Iran is absolute. We must not allow Iran to have the bomb or the capacity to make a bomb. Our enemies should never doubt our resolve."
- AIPAC Policy Conference (March 6, 2012)

"I recognize in the ayatollahs of Iran the zealot refrain of dominion. Their passion for the martyrdom of Arab youth is matched only by their cowardice in avoiding it for themselves. Nuclear ambition is pursued by Iran to dominate, to subjugate, and to obliterate. A nuclear Iran is not only a problem for Israel; it is also a problem for America and the world."
- AIPAC Policy Conference (March 6, 2012)

"As for Iran in particular, I will take every measure necessary to check the evil regime of the ayatollahs. Until Iran ceases its nuclear-bomb program, I will press for ever-tightening sanctions, acting with other countries if we can but alone if we must. I will speak out on behalf of the cause of democracy in Iran and support Iranian dissidents who are fighting for their freedom."
- Washington Post (March 5, 2012)

"The greatest threat Israel faces and, frankly, the greatest threat that the world faces is a nuclear Iran ... I don't trust the ayatollahs, and I don't trust Ahmadinejad ... I will do everything in my power to assure that Iran doesn't become a nuclear nation [and] threaten Israel, threaten us and threaten the entire world."
- ABC News (December 28, 2011)

“Ultimately, regime change [in Iran] is what’s going to be necessary.”
- Republican Jewish Coalition Presidential Candidates Forum (December 6, 2011)

"[Ahmadinejad] should be excluded from diplomatic society. He should be indicted for the crime of incitement to genocide under Article III of the Genocide Convention. Iran’s ayatollahs will not be permitted to obtain nuclear weapons on my watch. A nuclear-armed Iran is not only a threat to Israel, it is a threat to the entire world."
- Republican Jewish Coalition Presidential Candidates Forum (December 6, 2011)

"The right course in America is to stand up to Iran with crippling sanctions, indict Ahmadinejad for violating the Genocide Convention, put in place the kind of crippling sanctions that stop their economy ... There's no price which is worth an Iranian nuclear weapon."
- Republican Presidential Debate (November 22, 2011)

"If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon. If you elect Mitt Romney, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon"
- Republican Presidential Debate (November 13, 2011)

"If you want peace, prepare for war ... I want peace. And if I am president, I will begin by imposing a new round of far tougher economic sanctions on Iran. I will do this together with the world if we can, unilaterally if we must. I will speak out forcefully on behalf of Iranian dissidents. I will back up American diplomacy with a very real and very credible military option. I will restore the regular presence of aircraft carrier groups in the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf region simultaneously ... These actions will send an unequivocal signal to Iran that the United States, acting in concert with allies, will never permit Iran to obtain nuclear weapons."
- Wall Street Journal (November 10, 2011)

"The right course is for the president to declare that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable to America, and to punctuate that commitment. I have called for us to deploy two aircraft carrier task forces, one to the gulf, one to the Mediterranean to communicate our resolve in that regard."
- Interview with Israel Hayom (October 28, 2011)

"And with regards to Iran, which perhaps represents the greatest existential threat to Israel, we have to make it abundantly clear: It is unacceptable -- and I take those, that word carefully -- it is unacceptable for Iran to become a nuclear nation."
- Republican Presidential Debate (September 22, 2011)

As only a one-term governor, and never having served in any other political capicity, Romney has had very few and rare opportunities to prove his credentials on issues of foreign policy relating to the Middle East and Israel.

Aside from speeches, quotes, and  officially-stated positions, Romney does not have a voting record and only rarely broached the topic of Iran, Israel, or the Palestinians while serving as governor.

In addition to his personal views, Mitt Romney must draw upon a wide array of expertise to create a coherent and capable foreign policy, and the use of special advisory teams are an important asset for this purpose. In order to truly evaluate his agenda, it is therefore crucial to take these teams of foreign policy and national security advisers into account.

Below is a list of Romney's foreign policy team for issues affecting Israel and the Middle East:

COUNTER-PROLIFERATION:

• Eric Edelman: Hertog Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2005-2009); Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (2001-2003)
• Robert Joseph:Senior Scholar, Nat'l Institute for Public Policy; Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security (2005-2007)
• Stephen Rademaker:Principal at Podesta Group; Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation (2002-2006); Policy Director for National Security Affairs and Senior Counsel to Senator Bill Frist (2006-2007)

COUNTER-TERRORISM:

• Michael Chertoff:Chairman of the Chertoff Group; Secretary of Homeland Security (2005-2009); Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (2003-2005)
• Michael Hayden:Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2006-2009); Director of the National Security Agency (1999-2005)

DEFENSE:

• John Lehman:Chairman and Founding Partner, J.F. Lehman & Co.; National Security Advisory Council for the Center for Security Policy; Secretary of the Navy (1981-1987); Member of the 9/11 Commission
• Roger Zakheim:Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (2008-2009)

MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA:

• Mary Beth Long:Founder and Owner of M B Long and Associates, PLLC, and Metis Solutions, LLC; Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (2007-2009)
• Meghan O’Sullivan: Lecturer at Kennedy School of Government; Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan (2004-2007)
• Walid Phares:Co-Secretary General, Transatlantic Legislative Group on Counter Terrorism; Professor of Middle East Studies and Author; Task Force for Future Terrorism at the Department of Homeland Security (2006-2007)