Mitt Romney is out with a statement blasting Hillary Clinton’s call at a recent AIPAC meeting for engagement with Iran. It would be fair to the describe the release as a cheap shot, in so far as it misrepresents Clinton’s argument that engagement would help the United States better understand the regime in Tehran. She was not saying “If we just understand each other better, then we can all just get along.” It’s quite clear from reading her actual words…
“If we are having to pursue potential action against Iran, then I want to know more about the adversary that we face,” Clinton said. ” I want to understand better what the leverage we can bring to bear on them will actually produce. I want to get a better sense of what the real power centers and influentials are, and I also want to send a message, if we ever do have to take more drastic actions, to the rest of the world that we exhausted all possibilities.”
Once you get past the low blow, there is a serious policy dispute between Romeny and Clinton: He opposes talks with Tehran, she’s in favor of them.
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