President Obama and Mitt Romney tackled foreign policy issues down in Florida. Turns out, there’s little difference between the two men when it comes to what we should be doing in the Middle East. Romney’s strategy heading into the debate was to put all of those war mongering foreign policy advisors, who used to work for George W. Bush and now work on his campaign, in a lockbox – silenced, then embrace each and every one of President Obama’s policies in the Middle East and North Africa.
Most of Romney’s attacks against the President were rhetorical, but when it comes to what the President has actually done in winding down the war in Iraq, intervening in Libya, placing sanctions on Iran, and setting a timetable for withdrawal in Afghanistan, Romney agreed, agreed, agreed, and agreed. The only difference is – Romney clearly didn’t have the depth of knowledge on the issues that the Commander-in-Chief had – and to make up for it, Romney lied or told half-truth 24 different times last night. But that didn’t help him - as most post-debate polls gave President Obama a clear victory Monday night.
Still, those who are shocked by drone warfare and military interventionism in the Middle East walked away from Monday night’s debate outraged that neither party is willing to speak out against these horrors. The truth is, rarely are wars in American history partisan – as the vast majority of military engagements have been supported by both parties.
This isn’t a new phenomenon – it’s a symptom of the rise of the military industrial complex that Eisenhower warned us about. And today – this war machine has captured both parties.
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