Mitt Romney: Arab Spring Could've Been Avoided By Bush's 'Freedom Agenda' [View all]

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Mitt Romney: Arab Spring Could've Been Avoided By Bush's 'Freedom Agenda'



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/27/mitt-romney-arab-spring_n_1710038.html

In an interview with the right-wing Israeli daily newspaper Israel Hayom, Mitt Romney said that the Arab Spring might never have happened had Bush's "freedom agenda" not been prematurely halted by President Barack Obama.

"President (George W.) Bush urged (deposed Egyptian President) Hosni Mubarak to move toward a more democratic posture, but President Obama abandoned the freedom agenda and we are seeing today a whirlwind of tumult in the Middle East in part because these nations did not embrace the reforms that could have changed the course of their history, in a more peaceful manner," Romney said.

Romney argued that with the rise of democratically elected Islamist governments in some of the countries undergoing revolutions -- Egypt and Tunisia in particular -- the Arab Spring has turned out to be less of a boon for Western interests than it initially appeared.

"Clearly we're disappointed in seeing Tunisia and Morocco elect Islamist governments. We're very concerned in seeing the new leader in Egypt as an Islamist leader. It is our hope to move these nations toward a more modern view of the world and to not present a threat to their neighbors and to the other nations of the world," he said.