Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich said at the Republican presidential debate here Saturday night that they would be willing to go to war to keep Iran from attaining nuclear weapons if all other strategies failed.
Romney said that if “crippling sanctions” and other strategies fail, military action would be on the table because it is “unacceptable” for Iran to become a nuclear power.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich agreed and advocated “taking out their scientists” as well as cyber attacks in “covert and deniable” warfare against Iran, and would not rule out a military assault, alone or with Israel.
“If, in the end, despite all of those things the dictatorship [of Iran] persists, we have to take whatever steps are necessary to break its capacity to have a nuclear weapon,” Gingrich said.
“If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon. And if you elect Mitt Romney, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” said Romney.
Ron Paul strongly disagreed with his two rivals, stressing the need to go to Congress before taking military action and saying it isn’t worthwhile to use military force against Iran.
“I’m afraid what’s going on right now is similar to the war propaganda that went on against Iraq,” he said.
Herman Cain also opposed military action against Iran, saying the U.S. should increase sanctions, deploy ballistic missile warships in the region and assist the opposition movement.
Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security advisor, responded to the debaters critique of President Obama’s handling of the Iran situation. “This president has never hesitated with action,” Rhodes told CBS News, adding that problems aren’t solves through “rhetoric alone” and all options are open.
The “Commander-in-Chief Debate,” sponsored by CBS News and National Journal, was the first of the 2012 presidential cycle to focus on foreign policy – and the first to appear on network television.
VIDEO: Ronmey and Gingrich speak on Iran
VIDEO:
Wall Street Journal’s Matt Kaminski on the International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran’s nuclear development and Mitt Romney’s plan on dealing with Iran.
Read Mitt Romney’s op-ed the in the Wall Street Journal titled “I Won’t Let Iran Get Nukes.”
Before it’s too late, before the final Armageddon arrives with Iran at the forefront of the world, leading the world to Islamabad, what a terrible ending to an accomplished western civilization as we know it today. OFFENCE I SAY OFFENCE, don’t wait to be bullied by these frikin’ maniacs arabs