Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

GOP Presidential Candidates on National Security Issues

by Andrew Carpenter [contact information]

by Ulrika Grufman [contact information]

The U.S. presidential election is less than a year away and the media is currently filled with news regarding the Republican presidential candidates. The week after Thanksgiving, the Project for Excellence in Journalism reported that the 2012 election received 23% of all media coverage, and that number will only rise as we get closer to D-day. In light of this, the Center has put together a foreign policy profile for each Republican candidate in the race. We will of course do our best to keep it updated.

Mitt Romney
Ron Paul
Rick Santorum

Mitt Romney

On Afghanistan, Romney has been highly critical of the President's plan on withdrawal. He has previously stated that he would only withdrawal if it was advised by the Generals on the ground in Afghanistan. After Secretary Panetta's announcement from the Administration on withdrawing all U.S. combat troops by 2013, Romney condemned the decision as misguided and naive because it puts U.S. mission in Afghanistan in jeopardy. He continued, “Why in the world do you go to the people that you’re fighting with and tell them the date you’re pulling out your troops? It makes absolutely no sense.”

Romney has called the decision to withdrawal from Iraq in a Washington Post opinion piece a “astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition in Iraq has unnecessarily put at risk the victories that were won through the blood and sacrifice of thousands of American men and women,” and on withdrawing from Afghanistan “I don’t know of a single military adviser to President Obama who recommended the withdrawal plan that he’s chosen, and that puts the success of our soldiers and our mission at greater risk.”

On Iran Romney states, "Of course you take military action. It's unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon."

Romney has also mentioned his willingness to act unilaterally against Iran, if need be, in an op-ed in the Washington Post.

In his White Paper, Romney says about North Korea “A nuclear weapons capability in the hands of an unpredictable dictator like Kim Jong-Il or his eventual successor poses a direct threat to U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula and elsewhere in East Asia, threatens our close allies South Korea and Japan, destabilizes the entire Pacific region, and could lead to the illicit transfer of a nuclear device to another rogue nation or a terrorist group.”

In a Washington Post editorial, Romney said on China “I will begin on Day One by designating China as the currency manipulator it is.”

On foreign aid Romney said, "I happen to think it doesn't make a lot of sense for us to borrow money from the Chinese to go give to another country for humanitarian aid,"

Romney has been highly critical of a “reset” with Russia. In a Washington Post blog interview Romney stated that he believes Prime Minister Putin is currently “rebuilding the Russian empire.” He insists that “reset” “It has to end,” and “We have to show strength.”

Before New Start was ratified, Romney said in a Washington Post opinion piece: “Despite all of this, the president's New-START with Russia could be his worst foreign policy mistake yet. The treaty as submitted to the Senate should not be ratified.”

During an interview on CNN, Romney called Russia “without question our number one geopolitical foe” saying that Russia fights “for the world’s worst actors.”

Romney has been very critical of calls to cut the U.S.’s defense cuts. Romney has called for an additional $30 billion in defense spending, and increasing the number of active duty troops by 100,000.

Analysis: Romney has less foreign policy experience than nearly all the other candidates; however his first campaign as president and his frontrunner status has given Romney the most fleshed out foreign policy platform of all the candidates. Romney advocates staying in Afghanistan and Iraq, though he has made statements that indicate he supports withdrawing most of the U.S. military presence. Romney has taken a very aggressive stance against Russia and specifically President Obama’s ‘reset’. He has also taken a strong opinion on taking action against China for currency manipulation. Romney often takes a very political approach, and shifts his statements on foreign policy to fit the situation. His absence of commenting on torture during the first foreign policy debate shows that Romney is trying to both attract the far right, while remaining moderate enough to be a viable contender against President Obama. This makes it hard to actually determine what Romney’s true foreign policy platform is.

Ron Paul

Analysis: Gingrich uses strong Cold War rhetoric when talking about Iran as well as North Korea. He mentions on numerous occasions that he would use the methods of Reagan, Thatcher and the Pope to deal with them. Our best interpretation as to what he means by this is demonstrating military might to intimidate other countries into submission. Gingrich moreover seems to convey a hawkish message focused on unilateral military might. His unilateralism is shown in his strong critique of the United Nations. This is further conveyed by his announcement that he would make John Bolton Secretary of State if elected President. Bolton is known for his hawkish foreign policy attitude, his pre-emptive military strike opinions and his dislike of arms control. Gingrich has created headlines due to his comments on Palestine and Israel which once again shows his lack of understanding the depth of foreign policy issues, as well as his aptitude for going against long term U.S. policy. Gingrich’s past as a science fiction writer is shown clearly in his remarks about EMP. He has for many years advocated that the issue should be given more attention, despite both scientific and military experts disagreeing. Lastly, Gingrich has been severely criticized for changing his opinion on a number of issues such as water-boarding, climate change, Putin’s Russia and Libya. For an excellent analysis of this see “Newt vs. Newt” in Foreign Policy, December 9, 2011.

Paul has suggested in an Op-ed in Politico that exaggerating the threat Iran poses is similar to what occurred before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He has suggested “… offering friendship to them [Iran],” as a way to try to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Paul is against remaining in Afghanistan, saying that: "We'll have less danger to us if we don't occupy foreign countries, because that's the top motivation for the desire to come here and kill Americans.”

Paul is a strong proponent for cutting the defense budget. In an opinion piece in the Iowa State Daily he said "We can spend money on defense, that's okay, but we just can't afford all these hundreds upon hundreds of billions of dollars we're spending on all these wars. Hundreds of military bases in over 100 countries ... we need to bring our troops home and let them do their jobs here and spend all that money they're making here."

On China Paul is for more open relations saying the United States would be "much better off talking to the Chinese and trading with the Chinese" , and has similar views regarding Russia “If we're friends with Russia and we trade with Russia, I think there's a less likely chance that we'll ever fight with Russia."

Paul says in an opinion piece in The Hill on the U.S. intervening in the Arab Spring movements “The best answer to these questions is that we should just do nothing, as Eisenhower did in 1956. We should leave Egypt for Egyptians to figure out.”

Paul on foreign aid, “Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country and giving it to the rich people of a poor country,”

Paul said on torture during the first GOP Debate, “torture is illegal. And-- by our laws. It's illegal by international laws.”

Rick Santorum

Analysis: Paul’s Libertarian background makes him a unique among the GOP candidates. Paul calls for massive cuts to the domestic programs within the United States, including the military. He supports cutting all foreign aid, and for withdrawing troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Paul also calls for relationships with Iran, Russia and China focusing on open trade with the last two. Paul has demonstrated that he is consistent in his beliefs, and unlikely to backtrack if elected. Paul’s desire to not engage in needless military conflicts is a positive, but the near complete withdrawal of the United State’s leadership in the world could have disastrous consequences.

On Iraq Santorum has said in the National Journal, “We need to have anywhere—I'm hearing numbers of 20,000, 30,000 troops potentially to remain in Iraq, not indefinitely, but to continue to make sure that this is a stable transition."

Santorum does not support calls for eliminating foreign aid. During the November 22nd GOP Debate Santorum stated, “And I hear people up here talking about zeroing out foreign aid and humanitarian aid in particular. I think that's absolutely the wrong course.”

Santorum has advocated preemptive action against Iran: “A country that is developing a weapon of mass destruction to use it to destroy another country must be stopped in a preemptive strike…”

Santorum repeated this sentiment at AIPAC, saying: “If Iran doesn’t get rid of nuclear facilities, we will tear down them ourselves […] This is not bellicosity and warmongering, this is preventing the most radical regime in the world from having a weapon that could fundamentally change the security posture” of all freedom-loving people in the world.

On withdrawing from Afghanistan Santorum said in an interview on a Washington Post blog: “We cannot leave the region when there is still a good chance the Taliban can take control. To leave leadership in the hands of a radical terrorist group, known for its horrific treatment of women and for carrying out unprovoked terrorist attacks on this country — with promises for more — is something I am unwilling to do.”

On cuts to the Defense Budget Santorum said in the National Journal “Wrong signal, wrong effort, and wrong time.”

Santorum declared on China: “I don't want to go to a trade war; I want to beat China,"… "I want to go to war with China and make America the most attractive place in the world to do business."

On Russian relations and Arms Control Santorum said in the National Journal: “Now is the time to not only be increasing our military preparedness but to finish the task of a comprehensive missile-defense system …To abandon that goal in favor of ‘utopian ideas of a nuclear-free world’ be both irresponsible and dangerous…”

Santorum has been critical of the Arab Spring movement, saying in the National Journal “recent dislocation of the old order in the Middle East will usher in a new one and anti-Israel elements are working overtime all across the world to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Analysis: As a dark horse candidate, Santorum has a surprisingly fleshed out foreign policy platform. Santorum’s foreign policy is influenced by his adherence to American Exceptionalism and his strong support for Israel. Santorum is against cutting the military and advocates staying in Iraq and Afghanistan. Santorum also advocates preemptive strikes against Iran, and calls Iran the “greatest threat to our security”. Santorum’s aggressive foreign policy extends to China and Russia.

*This fact sheet has been updated by our Spring 2012 interns, Matthew Fargo and Tara Chandra.