When A Presidential Candidate Meets A US Navy SEAL

Glen Doherty, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, was among four Americans killed in an attack on a diplomatic mission in Benghazi Libya on Sept. 11, 2012. (Courtesy Doherty Family)

Romney Met Former Navy SEAL Killed In Benghazi Attack -- The Ticket/Yahoo News

VAN METER, Iowa—For weeks, Mitt Romney has hammered President Barack Obama's response to the deadly attacks on the United States consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which claimed the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

But what Romney has never said on the campaign stump until today is that he had previously met one of the victims: Glen Doherty, a former Navy SEAL who was working as a State Department contractor in Libya.

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My Comment: Talk about living in a small world.

Can The Pentagon Deliver Mitt Romney's Foreign Policy And National Security Goals

Pentagon Implications As Romney Argues Middle East No Better Than Four Years Ago -- Kevin Baron, E-Ring/Foreign Policy

Mitt Romney, with the presidential election entering the home stretch, delivered a heavily-promoted foreign policy address in which he called for a larger military that is more robustly deployed in the Middle East and more aggressively postured to check Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Romney slammed President Obama’s Middle East policies on Monday as passively indifferent to the people fighting for democracy, showing no American leadership, and missing an historic opportunity to influence and win friends in the region.

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My Comment: His policies and goals will be very expensive to achieve .... and in a fiscal world of trillion dollar deficits and an American public that has grown tired and weary of being involved in international conflicts .... I have some serious doubts that he and the Pentagon will be able to deliver.

U.S. Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney Outlines His Foreign Policy And National Security Goals

Romney Slams Obama Foreign Policy: ‘Hope Is Not A Strategy’ -- The Ticket

LEXINGTON, Va.—Looking to bolster his foreign policy credentials in the final weeks before Election Day, Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama of "passive leadership" in the Middle East and linked last month's deadly attack on the United States Consulate in Libya to a larger critique of what he described as Obama's failed leadership overseas. "Hope is not a strategy," Romney argued in a Monday morning address at the Virginia Military Institute.

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More News On U.S. Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney Outlining His Foreign Policy And National Security Goals

Mitt Romney’s foreign policy speech (full text, video) -- Politico

Romney offers sweeping critique of Obama foreign policy -- Reuters
Mitt Romney: US foreign policy 'must change course' -- BBC
Romney calls for strong U.S. role in world affairs -- CNN
Romney sees retreat in Obama’s foreign policy -- Washington Times
Romney Criticizes Obama's Foreign Policy Approach -- Wall Street Journal
Romney Says It’s ‘Time to Change Course’ in Mideast -- ABC News
Romney: Risk of conflict higher in Mideast after Obama policies -- NBC
Romney Attacks Obama's Middle East Policy -- Voice of America
Romney says Obama's 'passivity' has made Middle East less secure -- L.A. Times
Romney talks tough and accuses Obama of failing to lead on Middle East -- The Guardian
Romney calls for arming Syrian opposition, as part of Middle East course change -- FOX News
We'll arm the Syrian rebels – but only those who share our values' -- The Guardian
Mitt Romney Wants To Arm The Syrian Rebels -- Business Insider/The Guardian
Romney Says White House Botched Response to Benghazi Attack -- New York Times
Romney proposes new sanctions on Iran, new help for Syrian rebels -- CBS

Analysis: What does Mitt Romney believe on foreign policy? -- CBS
Experts pan Romney foreign policy speech -- Josh Gerstein, Politico
Obama and Romney: different rhetoric but foreign policies are the same -- Julian Borger, The Guardian
Romney on foreign policy: view from Israel and the Palestinian territories -- Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian
How different are Romney and Obama's foreign policies, really? -- CNN
Would Mitt Romney make the world a better place? -- Mark Mardell, BBC

My Comment: What is my take on this speech .... every Democrat/Republican President (with the exception of this one)  throughout American history has always given this type of speech. As for the content .... some parts I agree .... some I do not .... but even though I am rarely in favor of US intervention and involvement in the world trouble spots, it is still refreshing to hear a President talk about American exceptionalism and idealism on foreign and international affairs. In the end .... if this speech will help to spur a debate on foreign policy and national security issues that will give  the American electorate a clear choice on who to choose in November .... I will then call it a success

Mitt Romney‘s National Security Transition Team Is Now In Place

During the debate, Mitt Romney kept his focus on jobs. Reuters

Romney National Security Transition Team Takes Shape -- Josh Rogin, the Cable/Foreign Policy

The top echelon of Mitt Romney‘s national security transition team is largely in place and it includes both hawkish and centrist GOP foreign-policy professionals, The Cable has learned.

The news comes as debate continues inside the Romney campaign over how much to focus on foreign vs. domestic policy in the home stretch. Politico reported last week that chief strategist Stuart Stevens was leading the camp pushing for a more singular focus on the economy.

But with the final presidential debate set to focus on foreign policy and events in the Middle East continuing to raise questions about President Barack Obama's leadership, those advocating for more foreign policy campaigning have won a victory: Romney will give what the campaign is billing as a major speech on foreign policy at the Virginia Military Institute on Monday, Oct. 8.

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My Comment: There is not much information to go on right now .... Mitt Romney is focusing on domestic issues while minimizing national security and foreign policy issues. I think this is a mistake .... but .... there is still one more month before the Presidential election.

Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney To Announce His VP Pick On Saturday, 9:00 EST

Photo: US Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney Announces VP Pick Saturday In Virginia. Rubio Or Ryan? -- Miami Herald

Mitt Romney is going to announce his vice presidential pick tomorrow. The short list is long (and unknown, really, to many of us), but allies of Sen. Marco Rubio think it's down to the Florida Senator and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan.

Of course, it could be neither of them.

There's Tim Pawlenty (boring), and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman (boring, with a dash of Bush-era budgeting to go with it). Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is a wild card, but way more exciting.

The press release:

Boston, MA – On Saturday, Mitt Romney will begin his “The Romney Plan For A Stronger Middle Class” bus tour by announcing his choice for Vice Presidential candidate in Norfolk, Virginia. The following events are open to the press. Please note that the tour of the USS Wisconsin and Homemades by Suzanne drop by are pool coverage.

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My Comment: Sending the press release late Friday night .... hmmmm ..... OK .... but it is not the method that I would use to get the most publicity. But even with this late news announcement, his timing is a surprise .... he is picking his VP pick a month earlier than usual.

As to what is my take on who should he choose .... my hope is either Sen. Marco Rubio or Paul Ryan .... they are focused on the important domestic issues, and anyone else will just not excite the voters in the Republican base or in the independents that Romney will need to win in November. But .... I expect Mitt Romney to behave like Mitt Romney .... in short .... expect his selection to be someone who is boring, and like Mitt Romney not crystal clear in expressing his position on important policy issues..

Then again .... I can be completely wrong .... we shall know tomorow.

What Is Romney's Afghanistan Policy?

Mitt Romney at 2012 CPAC. Wikimedia

Top Senators Can't Explain Romney's Afghanistan Policy -- Josh Rogin, The Cable/Foreign Policy

Republican candidate Mitt Romney's policy on the future of U.S.-led war in Afghanistan war is unclear and confusing, complicating attempts to either support or criticize it during the campaign, according to leading senators from both parties.

On Romney's website, the campaign criticizes President Barack Obama for announcing a "timetable" for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and accuses the administration of placing politics over the advice of military commanders by withdrawing 30,000 surge troops by September.

"Gov. Romney supports the 2014 timetable as a realistic timetable and a residual force post-2014. But he would not have announced that timetable publicly, as President Obama did, as doing so encourages the Taliban to wait us out and our allies to hedge their bets," a Romney campaign spokesperson told The Cable.

But when it comes to what a President Romney would do differently from Obama on Afghanistan if and when he became president, the details remain sketchy.

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My Comment: I follow American politics very closely .... and even I do not know (specifically) what Republican Presidential candidate Romney's position on Afghanistan is. It's good that he will listen to the commanders .... but in the end it is he who will make policy, and that policy is still unknown. For what it's worth, on his website they outline the following Afghan position.

Sighhh .... this is the problem when you have a candidate who keeps his convictions and political philosophy to himself .... especially on issues that involve foreign affairs .... you are left guessing.