In Debate, Republican Candidates Trip Over Foreign Policy

By MARK LANDLER and TRIP GABRIEL
NYT

During Thursday night’s Republican debate, Mitt Romney repeated the familiar Republican charge that President Obama has apologized for the United States around the world. It is true that early in his term, Mr. Obama promised to abandon policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush, on issues like the military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and a foreign policy in Iraq and elsewhere that Mr. Obama described as unilateral.

But it is hard to find evidence that Mr. Obama ever said he was “sorry” for the United States. And in some speeches, notably after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Mr. Obama offered a robust defense of American policies, including the war in Afghanistan.

Asked about Israel, Mr. Romney accused Mr. Obama of publicly airing disputes with the Israeli government and said, “You don’t allow an inch of space to exist between you and your friends and allies.” The president has clashed with Israel over a demand that the Israeli government freeze construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

But the administration has also deepened military cooperation with Israel. At the United Nations on Wednesday, Mr. Obama delivered perhaps his strongest statement of support yet for Israel and repeated that the United States would oppose the Palestinian drive for recognition of a state.

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