Rich Williamson, a top foreign policy adviser to Mitt Romney, blamed President Obama’s policies in the Middle East for the violence that broke out in Egypt and Libya Tuesday in an interview with Foreign Policy late Tuesday. The interview came before reports that Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, had been killed in the attacks.
“It’s all part of a broader scheme of the president’s failure to be an effective leader for U.S. interests in the Middle East,” Williamson said.
Williamson said the attacks were a result of both Obama’s ineffective leadership as well as “the regard in which the United States is held under President Obama” in Egypt and Libya.
“The region’s in turmoil and this president has not provided effective leadership,” Williamson said. “It’s a pattern and the pattern sees the U.S. with reduced influence, reduced respect, reduced capacity to project its interests and our security is at risk because of the greatest danger, which is a nuclear breakout by Iran.”
Williamson said Obama’s failure to emphasize democracy promotion abroad played a role in causing turbulence in the region.
“Maybe if [Obama] had continued to support democracy and civil society in these countries the way that Bush did, the way they should, maybe the more moderate forces would have better prepared to compete for political power,” Williamson said.
