I don’t even want to discuss U.S.-Israeli relations or what it would mean for us to relocate our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. That’s all beside the point. What’s important is what Mitt Romney had to say when he was asked about whether we should move our embassy to Jerusalem:
ROMNEY: The actions that I will take will be actions recommended and supported by Israeli leaders. I don’t seek to take actions independent of what our allies think is best, and if Israel’s leaders thought that a move of that nature would be helpful to their efforts, then that’s something I’ll be inclined to do. But again, that’s a decision which I would look to the Israeli leadership to help guide. I don’t think America should play the role of the leader of the peace process, instead we should stand by our ally. Again, my inclination is to follow the guidance of our ally Israel, as to where our facilities and embassies would exist.
I have to admit that I have never been able to finish the Book of Mormon. I just can’t plod my way through it. Maybe there is something in that book that might explain why Mitt Romney wants to turn over our foreign policy decision making to Israel. It’s completely mystifying to me.
If we were talking about some Soviet satellite state like Romania saying some time in the 1950’s that they would defer to their allies in Moscow, I might understand it. If we were talking about some country like Qatar that is dependent on the U.S. for their security, I’d understand them saying that they’d defer to our judgment.
But why on Earth would the United States of America let a small country like Israel tell us what to do?
Yes, they are our allies and we care a lot about what they want and what they think. But our interests and their interests do not always coincide. We can’t just defer to their judgment in all matters. That’s crazy.
And what’s truly amazing is that Romney wants to abdicate our leadership role in brokering a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. He wants us to just support Israel in that conflict and not to really advise them in any way. We just listen and then support.
What happened to American Exceptionalism?
How long before Romney flip-flops on this and takes the exact opposite position?
