Mitt Romney's comment that Russia is the “number one geopolitical foe of the United States” was made when he was still one of many on the GOP carousel. Now that he is all alone after clinching the Republican presidential nomination, his views on who is America's No 1 public enemy and his overall foreign policy ideologies stand to receive much more scrutiny, with all the unease and apprehension they bring. It is of concern that Romney appears stuck in the days of the Cold War and unaware of the strategic interests that the United States and Russia share on Iran, Afghanistan and the world's oil supply. More to the point, Romney seems to be positioning himself as an unapologetic war hawk not dissimilar to George W. Bush. For obvious reasons, on the campaign trail, Romney keeps anything Bush at arm's length but he does sound like Bush's ideological soul mate on foreign policy. If we take the candidate at his word, a Romney presidency would move toward war against Iran; closely align Washington with the Israeli right; leave troops in Afghanistan at least until 2014 and refuse to negotiate with the Taliban; reset the Obama administration's button with Russia; and pursue a Reagan-like military buildup at home. The Washington Monthly dubbed Romney's foreign policy vision the “more enemies, fewer friends” doctrine, which is chillingly reminiscent of the world Obama inherited from Bush. Of Romney's 40 identified foreign policy advisers, more than 70 percent worked for Bush. Many hail from the neoconservative wing of the party, were enthusiastic backers of the Iraq war and are proponents of a US or Israeli attack on Iran. Romney has been similarly hawkish on military spending, another neocon priority. His plan to spend a minimum of four percent of GDP on the Pentagon would increase its budget by more than $200 billion in 2016, a 38 percent hike over Obama's budget. This second straight decade of escalating US military spending is not appreciated by the American public. A Pew poll last year found that Americans prefer peace through diplomacy over peace through military strength by 58 percent to 31 percent. A similar percentage believes the United States should compromise in order to work with allies rather than go it alone. It's not always easy to know what Romney really believes on any issue, including foreign affairs. One of his policies is simply to oppose whatever policy Obama pursues. Whatever Obama is for, he's against. But a host of Romney's statements during the primary and his choice of advisers suggests a return to the hawkish, unilateral interventionism of the Bush administration should he win the White House in November. Four years after Bush left office, Romney stands to get the Republicans back in the White House. If that happens, they're likely to pursue the same aggressive policies they advocated under Bush. If elected, and opinion polls suggest Romney is locked in an extremely close race with Obama, Romney will likely be a Bush reinvention when it comes to foreign policy. __
