During Saturday night's GOP debate, the top-tier Republican presidential candidates criticized President Obama's Iran policies, saying they'd be willing to go to war to keep Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Mitt Romney said that if "crippling sanctions" don't work, we should attack. Newt Gingrich said we should start by covertly "taking out their scientists" and sabotaging Iran's nuclear installations. Obama maintains that his administration is making progress isolating Iran, and that anyone who thinks the task is easy is "either politicking or doesn't know what they're talking about." Would a GOP White House be tougher on Iran than Obama has been?
Yes. A Republican wouldn't back down: Obama's failure to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program provides an opportunity for the GOP, says Jamie M. Fly at National Review. Almost all of the Republican candidates support military action if that's what it takes to prevent Tehran from acquiring the bomb. That's clearly a stronger position than Obama's willing to take. One thing's for sure: As Romney put it, the status quo is "unacceptable."
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