Romney's Plan for Dealing With Iran is Great... Its Also Not His Plan

Mitt Romney recently wrote an Op-Ed in the Washington Post describing how he would handle Iran compared to Obama.  To sum up, Romney starts with a few ice breakers; Spetember 11^th was bad, terrorism is scary, and Iran wants to destroy Israel.  He then progresses to slightly more constructive content by stating that while Obama says we need to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, “his rhetoric has not been matched by an effective policy.”  Romney then presents how he would deal with Iran. 

“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.  I will make clear that America’s commitment to Israel’s security and survival is absolute.”  Later in the Op-Ed Romney adds that he will maintain a strong naval presence in the Persian Gulf and stresses that he is willing to use military force if necessary. 

I think that plan sounds great.  It focuses on multilateral diplomatic and economic options and makes it clear to Iranian leadership that if these options fail the United States and its allies are willing and able to resort to a military option with the goal of eliminating Iran’s nuclear program and removing them from power.  There is only one problem… Romney’s proposed plan is actually Obama’s plan, and he has been doing it for nearly his entire Presidency.

Pressing for tight, multilateral sanctions:

The following list of international organizations and countries have imposed sanctions against Iran.  These range from freezing assets to prohibiting the import of Iranian oil. 

• The United Nations
• The European Union
• Australia
• Canada
• India
• Israel
• Japan
• South Korea
• Switzerland
• United States

Most of the sanctions have been imposed in the last 6 months, and have largely been a result of American diplomacy.  These sanctions have had a crippling effect on the Iranian economy.  Over the last 6 months the exchange rate of the Iranian Rial to U.S. Dollars has increased by 67%.  Additionally Iran’s own Parliament recently grilled Ahmadinejad over his handling of the economy and foreign policy. 

 

U.S. Support for Iranian Dissidents:

Last year Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Iranian opposition to seek international support, “as Libya rebels did.”  In the case of Libya, the Transitional National Council asked the international community to send aid and impose a no-fly-zone over Libya to protect civilians from aircraft loyal to Gaddafi.  Openly suggesting that a group of people should request military aide in their struggle against their government is a pretty strong sign that you support them. 

American Commitment to Israel:

Romney cites this write up of a recent Oval Office meeting between Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama as an example that Obama’s, “rhetoric has not been matched by an effective policy.” Interesting that same article goes on to quote Netanyahu as saying, “Americans know that Israel and the United States share common values, that we defend common interests, that we face common enemies. Iran’s leaders know that, too. For them, you’re the Great Satan, we’re the Little Satan. For them, we are you, and you’re us.”  The article continues to cite Obama’s address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as saying U.S. military aid to Israel has increased each year of his Presidency. 

Regional Naval Presence:

To say the United States doesn’t have a regional naval presence is simply ridiculous.  Not only has the U.S. Navy been conducting numerous anti-piracy operations in the Persian Gulf, but the Fifth Fleet is stationed in Bahrain, 100 miles from Iran. 

Romney’s Next Moves:

It is pretty clear that President Obama has already done everything Romney said he would do.  So do that make Romney a Democrat, Obama a Republican, or does it mean a good idea has no political alliance?