Romney: Americans Angry With Iraq War

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ADEL, Iowa (AP) - Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Friday that the country is angry over the lack of progress in the Iraq war, a stinging assessment of the Bush administration's handling of the conflict from a Republican candidate. Campaigning in Iowa, the former Massachusetts governor also argued that despite the nation's frustration over the war, voters aren't ready to replace President Bush with a Democrat. "I know the Democrats are getting all ready, they are measuring the drapes and getting the carpet all ready for how they are going to take over the White House, and I think they are going to get a big surprise," Romney told a crowd gathered at a golf course. "America is not happy with how the war in Iraq is going, and is angry. But America is not about to take a sharp left turn and put somebody in the White House who would turn America into a European-type state." While Romney supported the March 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and backs Bush's current troop increase, he has repeatedly said the post- invasion period was "mismanaged" with a lack of preparation for the insurgency and adequate planning for a government handover. Before various New Hampshire audiences on Wednesday, Romney said he would wait until a mid-September report from U.S. generals in Iraq before deciding the next course of action that he would support. He said if the surge succeeds, he believes it will allow U.S. troop withdrawals. He had refused to detail alternate scenarios should insurgent violence continue unabated. On immigration, Romney adopted a hardline stance. "I ... don't think it makes sense to have an immigration policy that says that if an illegal couple—a couple that comes across the border illegally—has a child here, that child becomes a U.S. citizen, that then the whole family gets to come in, if you will, through 'chain migration,'" he said. ____ On the Net: Mitt Romney for President 2008: http://www.mittromney.com/     Governor Romney on Iraq   Gov. Romney Stresses The Importance Of Winning In Iraq And Defeating Radical Islam Globally. "The congressional debate in Washington has largely, and myopically, focused on whether troops should be redeployed from Iraq to Afghanistan, as if these were isolated issues. Yet the jihad is much broader than any one nation, or even several nations. ... The jihadist threat is the defining challenge of our generation and is symptomatic of a range of new global realities." (Gov. Mitt Romney, "Rising To A New Generation Of Global Challenges," Foreign Affairs, July/August 2007)   Iraq Questions for Governor Mitt Romney   George Stephanopoulos Do you keep Bush or let him go? But how do you explain why all that planning wasn't done ? Yet, you support the president's decision to send more troops right now ? Are you confident the surge is going to work? Bill O Reilly Would you agree that we can't stop the Iraqi from killing each other ? Tom Bevan What's your impression of the job Rumsfeld did? Do you believe it's still fixable at this point? What happens if Iraq is not successful? Chris Wallace Where do you disagree with Bush on Iraq? Wolf Blitzer Do you have a time frame in mind? Hugh Hewitt Do you support sending more troops into that country? Robert B Bluey Do you think right now the US is losing the war in Iraq? Katherine Jean Lopez What did you make of the Iraq Study Group? Mary Katharine Ham What do you think about Harry Reid saying the war is lost ? Greta Van Susteren Would you have gone into Iraq? Do you think enough questions were asked in March of 2003 ? [1st Debate Should we be in Iraq when the American people do not victory is possible ? ''2nd Debate'' Can you foresee any circumstances under which you would pull out of Iraq without leaving behind a stable political and security situation ?   Governor Mitt Romney on Iraq   ABC'S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "National security, you're a management consultant again. You've come into the United States looking at the commander-in-chief. Do you keep him or let him go?"   GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Well, you have to look at Iraq and Iraq was superbly executed in terms of taking down Saddam Hussein's government. But I think everybody recognizes, from the president to Tony Blair to Secretary Rumsfeld that post the period of major conflict, we had major problems in the way we've managed the war in Iraq, and that has contributed to much of the difficulty we have today. It was under-planned, under-prepared, under-staffed, too low a level of troops, under-managed."   STEPHANOPOULOS: "But how do you explain why all that planning wasn't done? President Bush is a Harvard MBA, too."   GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Well, everybody has their own management style and their own approach and I respect enormously the approach other people. Mine is just different. And if you read "Cobra II" and "Assassins' Gate" and "Looming Tower" and some of the reports of the events leading up not only to 9/11, but to the conflict itself, there's a sense that we really weren't ready for the post major conflict period. And that has resulted in a blossoming of the sectarian violence, of insurgents within the country and from without, and a setting which is a very troubled, difficult position."   STEPHANOPOULOS: "Yet, you support the president's decision to send more troops right now."   GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Yeah."   STEPHANOPOULOS: "How much time do you give it to work?"   GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Well, it's not years. I think you're going to know within months."   STEPHANOPOULOS: "Mayor Giuliani said the other night he's not confident it's going to work. Are you?"   GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Well, you know, I think it's hard to predict whether this troop surge will work, but I'm absolutely confident it's the right thing to do."   Press Releases Jan 10, 2007; Governor Mitt Romney on Iraq   Quotes   2007   "She can do what she likes – but I take exception to her conclusions. I don't think we should run our foreign policy based upon elections, election schedules or anything of that nature. We should look at the interests of America and our friends and our citizens and our solders and do what it's our collective best interests. This president has taken action which he believes is calculated to make America a safer land. We should not make decisions based on an election schedule...I would not move to those choices unless we were convinced there was no prospect of success with the current strategy...A number of mistakes have been made and those mistakes have contributed to some of the challenges we now face...I'm glad we're seeing a change in strategy. I'm glad we're adding to the mission of our military the protection of the safety of citizens in and around Baghdad., I don't know how you could rebuild a country and an economy if you have your capital city is literally all covered by what we call a red zone. You know you've failed if you have a red zone. The conduct of our policy in Iraq has been fraught with a number of mistakes." Governor Mitt Romney, Adam Nagourney, The New York Times, January 29th, 2007 In Responce to Hillary Clinton, who said that President Bush needed to resolve the war he started before he left office and not hand it off to his successor   2006   "I wouldn't presume to present a plan different from that of the President. But I believe he was right to take on the war on terror on an aggressive front rather than a defensive front. We toppled the government ... walking away would mean a humanitarian disaster. We're there and we have a responsibility to finish the job." Response to Bill O'Reilly Sept, 27 2006   "I agree with the President: Our strategy in Iraq must change. Our military mission, for the first time, must include securing the civilian population from violence and terror. It is impossible to defeat the insurgency without first providing security for the Iraqi people. Civilian security is the precondition for any political and economic reconstruction.   "In consultation with Generals, military experts and troops who have served on the ground in Iraq, I believe securing Iraqi civilians requires additional troops. I support adding five brigades in Baghdad and two regiments in Al-Anbar province. Success will require rapid deployment.   "This effort should be combined with clear objectives and milestones for U.S. and Iraqi leaders.   "The road ahead will be difficult but success is still possible in Iraq. I believe it is in America's national security interest to achieve it."     Governor Mitt Romney has been to Iraq. If you go to Google Video and type Mitt Romney, you will find this video, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4362623183954478320&q=tvshow%3ACharlie_Rose, The Governor Mitt Romney interview takes about 20 min. If you just want to watch the part about this topic, go to this portion of the video: Iraq: 20:05 Min