Mitt Romney’s campaign is accusing Rick Perry of waffling on Afghanistan, saying the Texas governor is having it both ways on whether the US should withdraw.
In an e-mail blast to reporters entitled “RICK’S REVERSAL ON AFGHANISTAN,” the Romney team highlighted quotes from Perry in Monday’s debate in which he appeared to lean towards exiting the country.
“I think the entire conversation about, how do we deliver our aid to those countries, and is it best spent with 100,000 military who have the target on their back in Afghanistan, I don’t think so at this particular point in time,” he said. “I think the best way for us to be able to impact that country is to make a transition to where that country’s military is going to be taking care of their people, bring our young men and women home, and continue to help them build the infrastructure that we need, whether it’s schools for young women like yourself or otherwise.”
The e-mail contrasted his answer with statements from an unnamed campaign adviser in Foreign Policy today denying that Perry would quickly remove troops as president.
“He would lean toward wanting to bring our troops home, but he understands that we have vital strategic interests in Afghanistan and that a precipitous withdrawal is not what he’s recommending,” the adviser said, attributing confusion over his position to Perry trying to move within the “dynamic of a debate” on Monday.
Perry’s foreign policy has been a recurring source of confusion for observers. Critics leveled similar accusations after he decried “military adventurism” in a speech that also called on Americans to “renew our commitment to taking the fight to the enemy wherever they are before they strike at home.”
But, as an aide to Jon Huntsman noted on Twitter on Thursday, Romney isn’t without his own problems in this area. He shocked Republican hawks in June when he said in a debate that “One lesson we’ve learned in Afghanistan is that Americans cannot fight another nation’s war of independence.” The next day he clarified that he would rely on generals’ assessment of the situation regarding the war.
