Mitt Romney Delivered his Foreign Policy Speech in Israel
MARCIANO: Let's talk more about Mitt Romney's visit to Israel. It is part of a three-country trip designed to showcase his foreign policy credentials. Before Romney delivered that foreign policy speech that we just played before for you, he sat down with our Wolf Blitzer. Here's some of that discussion.</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL HOST: Do you consider Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel?</s>ROMNEY: Yes, of course. A nation has the capacity to choose its own capital. And Jerusalem is Israel's capital.</s>BLITZER: If you become president of the United States would you move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem?</s>ROMNEY: I think it's long been the policy of our country to ultimately have our embassy in the nation's capital of Jerusalem. The decision to actually make the move is one if I were president I would want to take in consultation with the leadership of the government which exists at that time. So I would follow the same policy we have in the past. Our embassy would be in the capital, but that's -- the timing of that is something I'd want to work out with the government.</s>BLITZER: With the government of Israel?</s>ROMNEY: With the government of Israel.</s>BLITZER: But every Israeli government has always asked every U.S. government to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.</s>ROMNEY: Well, that would make the decision easy, but I would still want to have that communication --</s>BLITZER: Just to be precise, if you are president, you would consult with Israeli government and if they said please move the embassy, you would do that.</s>ROMNEY: I'm not going to make foreign policy for my nation, particularly when I'm on foreign soil. My understanding is the policy for our nation has been a desire to move our embassy ultimately to the capital. That's something which I would agree with, but I would only want to do so and select the timing in accordance with the government of Israel.</s>MARCIANO: You could see Wolf's full interview with Romney tomorrow during "the SITUATION ROOM." Now for reaction to Romney's speech today in Israel let's bring in CNN's Sara Sidner. She's live from Jerusalem. Sara, how were Romney's remarks received?</s>SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Depends on who you talk to. You heard there Mitt Romney talking to our Wolf Blitzer and talking about Jerusalem being the capital of Israel, which Israel has long said, but, of course, the Palestinians really angered by his comments. The Palestinians believe that east Jerusalem should be their capital in a two-state solution. Israel claimed Jerusalem as theirs in the 1967 war and it's been a bone of contention between the two ever since. And so there's one group that is quite happy with what Mitt Romney said. The Israelis, you could hear them clapping there. The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actually made a statement after Mitt Romney's speech thanking him for his stance on Iran, for backing Israel, and for calling Jerusalem Israel's capital. So you can see that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu very happy with his old friend Mitt Romney. You know they have a long relationship. They've known each other since the '70s when they worked at a consulting firm together. But let's get back to one of the main points of Mitt Romney's speech, which was aimed at Iran, basically saying the U.S. must lead the charge to make sure that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons.</s>ROMNEY: Make no mistake. The ayatollahs in Tehran are testing our moral defenses. They want to know who will object and who will look the other way. My message to the people of Israel and the leaders of Iran is one in the same. We will not look away. Nor will my country ever look away from our passion and commitment to Israel.</s>SIDNER: So, you heard there that he would back Israel, and he said time and again on this visit that he would back Israel even if Israel decided that it need to defend itself or it need perhaps to attack Iran. So, some strong statements there. As you know President Obama and the Obama administration has been trying to tamp down a talk of a strike and try to let go of diplomatic relations and Iran getting a nuclear weapon. Iran has long said it's not trying to obtain nuclear weaponry. That it's simply using its nuclear program for things such as electricity - Rob.</s>MARCIANO: Sara, you know, in the UK, he had a few miscues. How is the trip going in general other than the speech where he had strong words? He went to the western wall. Any miscues in Israel?</s>SIDNER: Well, the Israeli leadership certainly seems to be very pleased with what's happened so far, although there were a couple of members of the opposition who -- members, leaders of the labor party who were pretty upset with Mitt Romney because he at the very last minute canceled his meetings with them. They said they suspected that Benjamin Netanyahu was behind that cancellation, so they made a statement saying they were not pleased at all that Mitt Romney canceled the meeting. Then there was a bit of a controversy over this planned dinner that Romney was going to have just before he got there. He with us going to have a big dinner that was for fund-raising but it actually was going to be on a day when Jews were fasting, a very important Jewish holiday known as Tisha B'av. So, these things though have sort of been overshadowed with the extreme happiness that the Israeli leadership had had so far on what Mitt Romney has said, talking very strongly about a relationship he believe has a relationship that has to be strong between Israel and the United States as well as slamming Iran in saying that he backs whatever decision Israel might make to defend itself - Rob.</s>MARCIANO: As we know, Sara, it's not easy trying to make everybody side happy. Sara Sidner, live for us from Jerusalem. Thank you, Sara. A reaction to Romney's remarks came swiftly from the Obama campaign. Tim Roemer, the foreign policy adviser to the president's campaign spoke with CNN's Candy Crowley.</s>TIM ROEMER, OBAMA CAMPAIGN FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER: The threshold for Governor Romney quite frankly, Candy, is this. Is he's equipped? Is he prepared to be a commander in chief? And when he gets off on the first leg of his trip and he goes to great Britain and he insults the British people and David Cameron, the prime minister, and the mayor of London both rebuke him, the question becomes this is, if he can't engage our allies on a simple topic like the international Olympics, how is he going to be tough enough to stand up to our gravest enemies like Iran.</s>MARCIANO: Obama adviser speaking earlier today with CNN's Candy Crowley. Back to Romney's comments today about the capital of Israel and his remarks about moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Earlier today, I talked with CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein about the impact of what Romney said.</s>RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: There is law dating back in 1995 that says it's the policy of the U.S. that Jerusalem is the capital of the three consecutive presidents have used their authority to waive the provisions of the law for the exact reasons that were cited, the potential impact so -- on the Arab world. So, we don't know in the long run if Romney wins, what will happen. I mean, the U.S. relationship to moving its embassy to Jerusalem is a little like are passed it to China and Taiwan. It is one of these places where there is a calculated ambiguity at the heart of American foreign policy. And I think it would be premature to assume from Romney's comments today that in fact, he would depart from that tradition as president, all of the same pressure that have moved the last three presidents would be his if he wins as well.</s>MARCIANO: CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein on Romney's comments in Israel. Also overseas but out of politics, there's a new deadly outbreak of Ebola virus has seen from the centers for disease controls on its way to help. We are tracking that story.