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Romney Speaks to Republican Jewish Coalition
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ShareOctober 16, 2007 5:18 PM
ABC News' Matt Stuart: Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition this afternoon, pushing for stronger international organizations as well as calling for the United States to pull out of the UN Human Rights Council.
Romney highlighted his support for Israel, saying the United States needs " a more explicit statement" that it will "never allow the destruction of Israel."
Romney spoke extensively on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as his usual stump subject of the "threat of violent, radical Jihad." Romney tried to tie the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with past wars, saying that "there is only one way we can lose. And that is if we as a civilized world, becomes deniers."
His most well received line was taken directly from his stump speech, Romney said to "I know the President comes under a lot of criticism" but that "he has kept us safe these last six years."
Romney spoke against the United Nations, saying that "The United Nations has failed. Failed to contain aggression, failed to stop proliferation, and failed to stop genocide." Romney stressed that he doesn’t believe the United States should pull out of the UN, but that "we need…new international structures in which only free nations are invited to work together."
Romney also used the moment to call on the United Nations Secretary General to pull out of the UN Human Rights Council, saying that it remained "virtually silent about the egregious violations by places like Burma, the Sudan, and Cuba, North Korea, Zimbabwe and Syria. In my view, it is time to end the US support for this sad spectacle."
Romney continued to denounce President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, again calling for him to be idicted and saying the Iranian leader was only "testing the water" with his comments condemning America and Isreal.
Romney went on to suggest that the problem goes beyond the current president, saying "Until only recently, too many American leaders remained silent while the Iranian regime tortured dissidents, funded terrorists targeting Americans and Israelis, subjugated and stoned women, threatened the destruction of Israel, and rushed toward nuclear weapons."
Upon taking questions, Romney was asked about his Mormon religion and why it "scares people so badly." Romney injected some levity to the question of his religion saying, "I’m probably the wrong guy to ask. But my neighbors might know."
Romney responded by suggesting that evangelicals were open to his candidacy, and began to say that he was either in the lead or tied for the lead in, "Iowa and New Hampshire and Michigan and South Carolina and Nevada," before he had to stop and backtrack, saying, "uh, not in South Carolina. But my own polls show me good. Of course I make them up."
He also suggested that he was looking for the support of Focus on the Family’s James Dobson and Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins. Romney stated that Dobson had said he couldn’t vote for Giuliani or McCain or Thompson, and that "well that sort of left one guy left standing."
After a follow up, Romney said that while there are those who say they wouldn’t vote for a Mormon candidate, polls also showed some people wouldn’t vote for a candidate over 70 and others who wouldn’t vote for someone who had been divorced many times, but that "those things are at their mind. At the front of their mind, they want to know who can lead America."
October 16, 2007 in Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (3)
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Hey, tumbleweedin - why you complainin'?
You got your post printed.
Mitt Romney 2008!
Posted by: bethtopaz | Oct 16, 2007 10:08:06 PM
Another lame issue? I think not! The God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob gave the Jewish people Isreal. All other countries were founded and formed by man and war. Am I a Christian you bet! I also believe we need to unite for Isreal.
Posted by: marlag | Oct 17, 2007 8:24:55 PM
Sri Lanka vying for a seat in the UN Human Rights council! Following incidents speak of Sri Lanka’s human rights records and are reasons why Sri Lanka should not even be considered for a seat in the UN human rights council:
Senator Patrick Leahy of the US Congress in his address to the Senate castigated the Sri Lankan President Rajapakse’s administration stating the administration has no credibility and transparency in addressing the issues pertaining to rights abuses.
Every commissions appointed to investigate the abuses have pointed their fingers at the government for kidnappings, abductions, intimidation, harassments, rapes on Tamil women folk and forcefully evicting the Tamils from their homes and occupying their land.
In the aftermath of the Anuradhapura Air base attack, the Sri Lankan army personnel had indulged in despicable acts of stripping bodies of people killed in the conflict displaying them nakedly in public – an act which goes beyond any norms or standards of human decency.
The UN Human Rights Commissioner, Louise Arbour had raised concerns over the killings, abductions and disappearances of Tamils saying the rule of law and prevalence of impunity in Sri Lanka is alarming and that the Presidential commission looking into the disappearances have lost its credibility.
The International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) had expressed disappointments and dissatisfaction regarding the Sri Lankan Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights violations. Its chairman Mr. P.N.Bhagwati had accused the AG chambers saying the investigation of aid workers is seriously flawed and the international Commission of Jurists (ICJ) reported there is a disturbing lack of impartiality and transparency in the Presidential commission’s investigation.
On Press Freedom – An report compiled by Reporters Without Borders covering 169 nations has placed Sri Lanka among the bottom ten countries stating that the Sri Lankan government only wants its propagandas to be published and not the true picture.
The UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak was also restricted to visit the devastated areas and affected people when he went to Sri Lanka to probe the Human Rights situation in order to submit a report to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
UN’s Allan Rock’s report on the rights abuses and its links with terrorist militia groups (Karuna group and the EPDP) shocked the UN and the international community on the executions and disappearances in which the government had a hand.
The USAID after scrutinising the ground situation in Sri-Lanka concluded the government is behind the increase in human rights violations and a continuation of Sri Lanka 's long-standing culture of impunity
Gareth Evans, President, International Crisis Group has warned of state terror for large scale atrocities in the likes of Cambodia-style, Rwanda-style, Srebrenica–style, Kosovo-style have taken place.
Posted by: Ayaduray | May 16, 2008 3:49:28 AM
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