SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Unsparing in their criticism of President Barack Obama, Republican presidential hopefuls disagreed in a campaign debate Saturday night about the correct course in Afghanistan, the use of waterboarding and the wisdom of a pre-emptive military strike to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
“If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon. And if you elect Mitt Romney, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” predicted the former Massachusetts governor.
On Afghanistan, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas both said it was time for U.S. troops to come home after a war of 10 years’ duration.
While the Republicans were talking about foreign policy, Obama was on the world stage, as America’s diplomat in chief.
After meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Hawaii, he said the two men intend to “shape a common response” to new allegations that Iran has been covertly trying to build a nuclear bomb.
If the presidential trip gave the Republicans pause, they didn’t show it in a 90-minute debate.
“There are a number of ways to be smart about Iran, and a few ways to be stupid. The administration skipped all the ways to be smart,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
The debate at Wofford College occurred less than two months before the formal selection of national convention delegates begins Jan. 3 in the Iowa caucuses.
The tone was set at the outset, when the Republicans were asked whether they would support a pre-emptive strike to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Gingrich agreed with Romney, saying that if all other steps failed, “you have to take whatever steps are necessary” to prevent the Islamic regime from gaining a nuclear weapon.
Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania agreed. Noting that a mysterious computer virus had caused disruption inside Iran’s nuclear labs, and that Iranian scientists have been killed in recent months, he said, “I hope that the U.S. has been involved” in those and other covert actions.
Paul wanted no part of a military strike. “It’s not worthwhile to go to war,” he said.
Perry responded without answering the question. “This country can sanction the Iranian central bank right now and shut down that country’s economy, and that’s what the president needs to do,” he said.
The war in Afghanistan produced the same response as the question relating to Iran’s nuclear ambitions — unanimous criticism of the president but differences among the Republicans seeking to take his place.
Huntsman, who served as Obama’s first ambassador to China, said it was time to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan, a land where their boots first touched the soil a decade ago.
“I say it’s time to come home,” he said. “I say this nation has achieved its key objectives.”
Romney and Perry said they would side with military commanders on the ground about when to withdraw troops. They criticized Obama for “telegraphing” the nation’s intentions. Yet Romney backed the same time table Obama has cited.
Views on foreign affairs
Republican candidates’ positions on foreign-policy issues at the debate Saturday:
Iran: Mitt Romney says that if President Barack Obama wins a second term, Iran will obtain a nuclear weapon. Herman Cain says he would not use military action but would move warships to the region to deter Iran. Ron Paul says any use of force would require approval from Congress.
Waterboarding: Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann both say they would reinstate waterboarding during interrogations of terrorism suspects, while rivals Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman both say they see the procedure as torture.
Federal deficit: Mitt Romney says the country cannot keep borrowing money from China to pay for domestic programs that aren’t necessary, offering budget cuts to the arts and public broadcasting. Newt Gingrich says the U.S. needs to grow the economy to bring in more tax dollars. Michele Bachmann says her proposal is simple: end all of the 1960s’ Great Society programs.
Arab Spring: Herman Cain says Obama has been on the wrong side of nearly every situation in the Arab world and the United States has mishandled the uprisings in the region. Newt Gingrich says the United States wrongly dumped overnight an ally in Syria, while Mitt Romney says it is time for the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad to end.
