January 22, 2012

GOP Candidates' Middle East Conundrums

By Dina Gusovsky
With so many Americans still unemployed and struggling to make ends meet, foreign policy issues are taking a back seat this political season. Regardless of what is happening here at home, one of the most important responsibilities of a president, and one that often defines his character, is how he deals with issues abroad. And the issues these days are plenty -- particularly in the Middle East. Many political pundits tend to lump all Republicans, save Ron Paul, into the same category when it comes to foreign policy.  But the distinctions among these candidates are there, and they are vivid.  And as Mitt Romney campaigns in South Carolina as the party's frontrunner, it is worth considering how his Middle East policy fares against the other candidates and why it matters. Ron Paul's views on U.S. foreign policy provide the clearest distinction from all the other GOP candidates.  He will not go to war with Iran, he often invokes the term "blowback" when...(Read Full Article)