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Romney Campaign Press Release - Gov. Mitt Romney: Surge of Support At Home

July 31, 2007

"We don't just need a surge on the ground in Iraq – we need a surge of support for our troops as well. Democrats say they support the troops, but many don't support the work they are doing to make the surge successful. Representative Clyburn, the third-highest ranking House Democrat, said it would be a 'real big problem' for Democrats if progress is made in Iraq. That's not a problem but good news for all Americans."

– Gov. Mitt Romney

THE ROMNEY VISION: LEADERSHIP SURGE NEEDED TO DEFEAT RADICAL ISLAM GLOBALLY

Gov. Romney Blasted Rep. Clyburn's Recent Comments That Good News In Iraq Was Trouble For Democrats. ROMNEY: "We don't just need a surge on the ground in Iraq – we need a surge of support for our troops as well. Democrats say they support the troops, but many don't support the work they are doing to make the surge successful. Representative Clyburn, the third-highest ranking House Democrat, said it would be a 'real big problem' for Democrats if progress is made in Iraq. That's not a problem but good news for all Americans." (Gov. Mitt Romney, 7/31/07)

Gov. Romney Calls Defeatist Talk Of Some Democrats "Inexcusable." "Romney said it was 'inexcusable' for Democrats and others to publicly claim that this nation has lost the war in Iraq while troops remain in that country." (Robynn Tysver, "Romney: Give Iraq War Plan More Time," Omaha World-Herald, 7/28/07)

Gov. Romney: Give The New Iraq War Plan Enough Time To Work. ROMNEY: "Let's give General Petraeus and Prime Minister Maliki enough time to see if it is working. If it's working, great. We'll be able to bring home our troops soon. If it's not working, we'll consider the problem at that point." (Robynn Tysver, "Romney: Give Iraq War Plan More Time," Omaha World-Herald, 7/28/07)

Gov. Romney Stresses The Importance Of Winning In Iraq And Defeating Radical Islam Globally. ROMNEY: "The congressional debate in Washington has largely, and myopically, focused on whether troops should be redeployed from Iraq to Afghanistan, as if these were isolated issues. Yet the jihad is much broader than any one nation, or even several nations. ... The jihadist threat is the defining challenge of our generation and is symptomatic of a range of new global realities." (Gov. Mitt Romney, "Rising To A New Generation Of Global Challenges," Foreign Affairs, July/August 2007)

Gov. Romney Warns That Radical Islamists Want To End "Civilization As We Know It." "The former Massachusetts governor has been one of President Bush's staunchest supporters of the war. He routinely talks about the threat of radical Islamists and, he says, their desire to install an Islamic regime around the world. "They want to cause the collapse, the collapse of civilization as we know it," he said." (Robynn Tysver, "Romney: Give Iraq War Plan More Time," Omaha World-Herald, 7/28/07)

THE DEMOCRATS: 'A REAL BIG PROBLEM' WITH SUCCESS IN IRAQ

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) Said A Positive Iraq Report From Gen. Petraeus In September Would Prevent The Democrats From Declaring Defeat. "[Clyburn] said Monday that a strongly positive report on progress on Iraq by Army Gen. David Petraeus likely would split Democrats in the House and impede his party's efforts to press for a timetable to end the war. ... Clyburn noted that Petraeus carries significant weight among the 47 members of the Blue Dog caucus in the House, a group of moderate to conservative Democrats. Without their support, he said, Democratic leaders would find it virtually impossible to pass legislation setting a timetable for withdrawal." (Dan Balz and Chris Cillizza, "Clyburn: Positive Report by Petraeus Could Split House Democrats on War," The Washington Post, 7/30/07)

Rep. Clyburn: A Positive Report On Iraq Would Be "A Real Big Problem For Us." "'I think there would be enough support in that group to want to stay the course and if the Republicans were to stay united as they have been, then it would be a problem for us,' Clyburn said. 'We, by and large, would be wise to wait on the report.' ... Many Democrats have anticipated that, at best, Petraeus and U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker would present a mixed analysis of the success of the current troop surge strategy, given continued violence in Baghdad. But of late there have been signs that the commander of U.S. forces might be preparing something more generally positive. Clyburn said that would be ' a real big problem for us.'" (Dan Balz and Chris Cillizza, "Clyburn: Positive Report by Petraeus Could Split House Democrats on War," The Washington Post, 7/30/07)

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) Claimed The U.S. Has Already Lost In Afghanistan To Al Qaeda And Bin Laden. SEN. HILLARY CLINTON: "We've got to figure out what we're doing in Iraq, where our troops are stretched thin, and Afghanistan, where we're losing the fight to al Qaeda and bin Laden." (CNN/YouTube, Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Charleston, SC, 7/23/07)

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) Proclaimed That The "War Is Lost" Before The Surge Was Even Fully Implemented. "Senate majority leader Harry Reid said yesterday that the war in Iraq is 'lost,' triggering an angry backlash from Republicans who said the top Democrat had turned his back on the troops. ... 'I believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense, and - you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows - [know] this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday,' said Reid, a Nevada Democrat." (Anne Flaherty, "Reid Says War Is 'Lost,' Drawing GOP Rebuke," The Associated Press, 4/20/07)

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - Gov. Mitt Romney: Surge of Support At Home Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/296138

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