Tampa: Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate, has said that there is a real threat of proliferation of nuclear weapons given the instability in Pakistan and violence in Syria.
"Instability in Pakistan and horrific violence in Syria, and with North Korea having shared nuclear technology, the threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction continues to be very real," Mitt Romney said in his remarks to the American Legion in Indianapolis, Indiana.
"And we are still at war in Afghanistan. We still have uniformed men and women in conflict, risking their lives just as you once did. All of this and more is happening around the world right now," he said.
"And yet, for the past four years, Obama has allowed the American leadership to diminish. In dealings with other nations, he has given trust where it is not earned, insult where it is not deserved, and apology where it is not due," he alleged.
The world, Romney said, continues to be a dangerous place.
"Major powers are rapidly adding to their military capabilities, sometimes with intentions very different from our own," he said.
The regime in Tehran leads chants of "death to America" and is drawing closer to nuclear weapons capability, he added.
Referring to his recent overseas trip to Great Britain, Israel, and Poland, Romney said the highlights of the trip were not just the places he visited but the meetings he had with great champions of freedom like Benjamin Netanyahu, David Cameron, and Lech Walesa.
"President Walesa welcomed me in, asked me to sit down, and spoke with his characteristic candour," he said.
"Where is American leadership," he said, adding "the world needs America to lead!"
"I came back home with an even deeper appreciation of the importance of strong ties with our allies, and with an even firmer conviction that there is a role that only America can play in the world," Romney said.
"The United Nations is a place where nations can talk, but leadership that preserves peace and promotes freedom--must come from the United States of America," he said.
Romney said a fundamental principle of American foreign policy has long been to work closely with its allies so that they can deter aggression before it breaks out into open conflict.
"We used to nurture our alliances and stand up for our common values. But when it comes to friends and allies like Poland, the Czech Republic, and Israel...And with nations that oppose us like Iran and Cuba...President Obama has moved in the opposite direction," Romney alleged.
Romney said that the US foreign policy should take a page from the US Marine Corp: No better friend, no worse enemy.
"A just and peaceful world depends upon our strength and our confidence. Our foreign policy must demonstrate confidence in our cause, clarity in our purpose, and resolve in our might," Romney said.
"Confidence in our cause compels us in our relations with other nations to promote liberty, free enterprise and human rights," he added.
"Clarity in our purpose requires that when we act, we honestly describe our mission, how we will know when it has been accomplished, and what will have been achieved when it is completed," Romney said.
"And resolve in our might, means that in those exceptional cases where a substantial American interest demands that we take military action, we will employ overwhelming means to protect our troops and to achieve our objectives," Romney added.
PTI
