Osama`s killing made US safer: Romney

Washington: Identifying US drone strikes against al Qaeda targets as one of the achievements of the Obama Administration, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney today said the killing of Osama bin Laden has made America safer.

"Well, in some ways, safer," Romney said when asked if the country safer or less safe because of President Obama`s leadership. "Getting rid of Osama bin Laden, I think, a success on the part of the (US) President (Barack Obama) authorizing Seal Team 6, commanding Seal Team 6 to take him out. That was a great accomplishment. Using the drones to strike at al Qaeda targets -- I think those are positive developments," Romney said. "I don`t know that that`s going to get him the support that he wants but, of course, he deserves credit for giving the order for the Seal Team 6 to go after bin Laden and take him out, that`s absolutely right," he added. He said, however, becoming nuclear, is a game-changing threatening development. "Threatening not only to our ally, Israel, but threatening to the United States of America, and the president has not been successful," he said. Romney asserted that the US can`t live with a nuclear Iran. "I don`t think we live with a nuclear Iran. I think we make it very clear that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable to the United States of America, the civilized nations throughout the world, and that we will maintain every option that`s available to us to keep that from happening," he said. "We need to use every resource we have to dissuade them from their nuclear path. But that doesn`t mean that we would take off the table our military option. That`s something, which, certainly, every American would, hopefully, would never have to use. But we have to maintain it on the table, or Iran will, undoubtedly, continue their treacherous course," Romney said. Impressed by the speech given by for president Bill Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, Romney said, "He did stand out, in contrast, with the other speakers." "I think he really did elevate the Democratic Convention in a lot of ways and, frankly, the contrast might not have been as attractive as Barack Obama might have preferred if he were choosing who would go before him and who would go after," Romney said. PTI