The debate started off about the Middle East with a question about how to change these areas. The main plan of both Romney and Obama is to keep the American people safe, but how they approach the topic is very different. Obama plans to address foreign affairs by applying "steady" support and leadership to countries in the Middle east and our allies. This will give them the structure that they need to become a prospering nation, but enough freedom to be an independent country that can still function on their own. However, Romney spoke about increasing military funds and applying more force to these areas. But, this approach is very aggressive and, as allies, our job is not to take over, but to act as a support system to aid them in their struggles. The answer is not to send mass military forces into areas to apply more structure, but to maintain our current actions. The topic on Iraq raised much disagreement. During Obama's presidential term, he pulled troops out if Iraq to focus on other areas of the world that need more attention. Obama decided that pulling the military force from Iraq would free us up to focus on other areas, such as Al Qaeda. In doing this, Obama helped defeat Osama Bin Laden. There are other areas that we need to focus on right now rather than using all of our forces in Iraq. However, Romney proposed to keep the troops in Iraq.
Obama has also recently decided that we are pulling out of Afghanistan to let the country deal with their nations security like an independent nation. This allows us to be open to make new allies that could benefit us. Obama said in the debate, “In addition, we're now able to transition out of Afghanistan in a responsible way, making sure that Afghans take responsibility for their own security. And that allows us to rebuild alliances and make friends around the world to combat future threats.”
The recent incident in Libya has raised much debate. Obama's solution is to serve the guilty party in Libya justice, but also to look at the bigger picture and realize that we need to keep a tight association with Libya, who despite this incident, still considers America a close companion. Romney plans to barge in and fight until we get justice. This shows much determination, but it is too forceful and does not have in mind the fact that we are still partnering with Libya. Romney's plan could turn out to be dangerous if we push too far, because we have to remember that it was a certain group of people that destroyed our Embassy not the country as a whole.
As a country, we need not only strong leadership, but smart leadership. Obama's plan will give us steady leadership and allow us to make strong alliances with our countries. However, Romney plans to deal with foreign affairs in a way that is too forceful, and could lead to conflicts with other countries and our relationships with them.
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