Have Republicans Been Right About Obama All Along?

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He’s been accused of being naive. Just last week he was accused of having “analysis paralysis.” Clearly the U.S. was not prepared with a response to Russia’s aggression in Crimea and Republicans have been hammering him on it ever since. And even in 2012 it appears that Mitt Romney may have had a more definite idea of what kind of threat a militarily resurgent Russia could pose to U.S. interests around the world. In a March 26th 2012 interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Romney had the following to say on the issue.

In a March 26 interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN, he said the president seemed to be willing to negotiate with Russians on matters he was hiding from the American people. Said Romney: “This is without question our No. 1 geopolitical foe. They fight for every cause for the world’s worst actors. The idea that he has more flexibility in mind for Russia is very, very troubling indeed.” Blitzer asked Romney if he thought Russia is a bigger foe than Iran, China or North Korea. “I’m saying in terms of a geopolitical opponent, the nation that lines up with the world’s worst actors,” Romney said. “Of course the greatest threat that the world faces is a nuclear Iran, and a nuclear North Korea is already troubling enough. But when these terrible actors pursue their course in the world and we go to the United Nations looking for ways to stop them … who is it that always stands up with the world’s worst actors? It’s always Russia, typically with China alongside. And so in terms of a geopolitical foe, a nation that’s on the Security Council that has the heft of the Security Council, and is of course is a massive nuclear power, Russia is the geopolitical foe.”

Then President Obama characterized Romney as having a “Cold War” mentality. However, it’s a good question, has the Administration built a global policy centered too much on global threats such as al-Qa’ida at the expense of more traditional geopolitical concerns?

If you asked pundits in 2012 this question you’d have gotten a no. Now many don’t seem so sure and others think the President should have been more forceful about implementing missile defense systems which he eventually cancelled. Today, while at the Hague participating in the Nuclear Security Summit, President Obama was asked directly whether or not Mr. Romney had in fact had a point in 2012 after all.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5DV228cj80&w=584&h=390]