Mitt Romney gave a major foreign-policy speech today in which he declared of Israel: “The world must never see daylight between our two nations.” Some quick responses from experts:
Ali Abunimah of Electronic Intifada:
Romney said little different than Obama about the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, suggesting that, like Obama, his policy will be one of conflict management rather than any show of trying to resolve it.
George Bisharat, senior fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies:
Mitt Romney wants no daylight between the policies of the United States and Israel, and yet supports “the goal of a democratic, prosperous Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the Jewish state of Israel.” How then would he respond, as president, to Israel’s continuing colonization of East Jerusalem and the West Bank, which is widely acknowledged in the international community to have destroyed the prospects of a two-state solution?
Daniel Levy, senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations:
No daylight means very few new friends and many more missed opportunities.
Omar Dajani, Professor of Law at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law:
[B]y suggesting that there should never be “daylight” between U.S. and Israel on matters of policy and security, he is advocating not that the US should lead, but that it should be led. A responsible foreign policy in the Middle East, and elsewhere, should start with an effort to understand what American interests are, particularly where they diverge from the interests of our friends and allies.
