On Attacks, Romney Spoke Too Soon
BOSTON — The attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and the resulting deaths of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans has brought foreign policy front and center in the race for president.
The Republican candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, is receiving widespread criticism — including from within his own party — over statements he made blasting President Obama just hours after the attacks in the region began.
WBUR’s Steve Brown spoke with Dan Drezner, professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, about Romney’s response.
Steve Brown: What do you make of Romney’s initial statement and ensuing press conference? He criticized the president, saying that he was sympathizing with the attackers in Egypt and Libya and essentially apologizing for an anti-Muslim online video made in the United States.
Dan Drezner: I think it’s safe to say he acted too quickly. He issued that comment before all the facts were in, and obviously it didn’t look good once everyone became aware of the death of the Libyan ambassador. And then he doubled down on it the next morning, even though it was pretty clear by that point that the statement that he was attacking came from the U.S. Embassy in Egypt and clearly had not been approved either by the White House or the State Department, for that matter.
Listen to the full interview