http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-cirincione/romneys-worst-foreign-pol_b_641359.html(...)
This story lit up the blogosphere, but so far the major papers and networks have largely ignored Romney's error-filled screed against a modest treaty to cut US and Russian nuclear weapons -- now being debated in the US Senate. His Washington Post op-ed of July 6 was met with a barrage of withering criticism.
Fred Kaplan of Slate said, "In 35 years of following debates over arms control I have never seen anything quite as shabby, misleading, and -- let's not mince words -- as thoroughly ignorant." Daniel Larison of The American Conservative called Romney's claims "dishonest and misleading." Joe Klein of Time characterized Romney's piece as "an aggressively chuckleheaded attack on the New START Treaty." Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic said Romney's op-ed signals he would "take American foreign policy in a radical old direction." Max Bergmann of ThinkProgress called Romney's vision of nuclear anarchy "immensely dangerous." Baron YoungSmith of The New Republic said, "The degree of his hyperbole is astounding, as is the degree of his opportunism." And Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee delivered the knockout blow with his own Washington Post op-ed: Romney simply "ignored the facts."
Romney is the only major GOP politician to oppose the treaty. His article infuriated other Republicans and exposed a three-way split in the party.
Romney embraced the position so far held by only the extreme right wing, what YoungSmith calls the "superhawks," such as John Bolton, Liz Cheney and the Heritage Foundation. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) felt compelled to rush to print a Wall Street Journal op-ed to reassert his control over the process. He expressly does not oppose the treaty -- calling it "relatively benign" -- but seeks to delay it to deny President Obama a pre-November victory and force the President to add $3 billion more to his already generous 10-year nuclear weapons budget of $180 billion. Kyl represents the more traditional right wing that now dominates party politics but is both courting and fending off the Mad Hatter Tea Party.
The most devastating critique came from Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN). He is the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, strongly supports the treaty, and represents what YoungSmith terms "the responsible Republican foreign policy establishment," all of whom support the treaty. Lugar wrote on July 8:
Governor Mitt Romney's hyperbolic attack on the New START Treaty...repeats discredited objections and appears unaware of arms control history and context. In advancing these arguments, he rejects the Treaty's unequivocal endorsement by the Defense Department led by Secretary Robert Gates and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also distances himself from prominent Republican national security leaders, including Jim Schlesinger, Henry Kissinger, James Baker, and Brent Scowcroft, who have backed the Treaty after thoughtful analysis.
New START would strengthen our non-proliferation diplomacy worldwide, limit potential arms competition, and help us focus our defense resources effectively. It offers concrete national security benefits that will make the American people safer, and it should be ratified.
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