Reflection #6

I thought a good time for a reflection would be right after the foreign policy presidential debate tonight, even though both candidates got off the subject of foreign policy rather often. The first thing I noticed was that Romney mentioned the importance of civil society in the Middle East twice. I probably would not have thought twice about that phrase had I not been in this class, and it was exciting that I could really understand what the governor was talking about because we have done extensive reading and discussion on the topic.

Initial reactions from the news media and social media seem to indicate that many people think Romney didn’t diversify his positions very far from Obama. One analyst on CNN even said that it seemed like Romney was endorsing Obama during the debate, not running against him. I agree that it seemed like Romney took similar positions to Obama’s foreign policy. He agreed with the “crippling sanctions” Obama has imposed on Iran in regards to their nuclear program, and he agreed with Obama that Assad would be removed from Syria and but without military involvement from the U.S. However, Romney did differ from Obama in saying that the U.S. should identify trusted Syrian rebels and arm them. Both agreed that ousting Mubarak from Egypt was the right decision, but Romney stressed that the Obama administration should have seen the Arab Spring coming. The candidates also differed on what they saw as the greatest threat to American security. Obama stated that terrorist organizations were the greatest threat while Romney said it was Iran’s nuclear threat.

It was interesting to watch this debate given the new experiences I have had taking this class and learning so much more about the Middle East. I tended to agree with most of what President Obama said about our foreign policy, but both of the candidates had similar views on many of the issues I was interested in, so it’s hard to say who I sided closer with. Although both Obama and Romney had views I agreed with on the Middle East, I wish they had focused more on the grassroots type of reform that seems promises to me in the region. They were focused more on national security of the U.S. and politics within the Middle East, and not so much on social reform and human rights for the people there. Both candidates seemed to dismiss those issues as something that had been fought for during the Arab Spring and now solved. But the issues are far from solved; the Arab Spring was just a way that problems in the region were brought to worldwide attention. Hopefully whoever is elected will take a close look at the region and focus not only on national security and politics there, but also the wishes of the people. Both candidates talked about finding suitable replacements for dictators like Assad in Syria who must go, and civil society groups in the region have policies and members who might be helpful in creating legitimate governments in the region if the U.S. is willing to work with those types of organizations.