On the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Republicans aligned with Mitt Romney attacked President Obama over his foreign policy actions, from the decision to withdraw troops from Iraq to the conflict that still plagues Syria.
“As far as the Middle East is concerned, this president's national security policy has been an abysmal failure,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Fox & Friends.
Taking a similar tone, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani criticized Obama’s handling of the Iran’s nuclear program.
“They are the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. If they have nuclear weapons, the next time there is an attack it could be with nuclear weapons,” he said on the same show. “There has to be a sense of urgency about stopping them instead of this almost irrational desire to negotiate with them. They have to be afraid of us if we're going to stop them. I'm not certain that's the case right now.”
On Monday, the conservative-leaning Government Accountability Institute released a report that argued Obama attends fewer than half of his daily intelligence briefings. Former Vice President Dick Cheney criticized Obama, citing the report.
“If President Obama were participating in his intelligence briefings on a regular basis then perhaps he would understand why people are so offended at his efforts to take sole credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden,” Cheney said in a statement to the Daily Caller. “Those who deserve the credit are the men and women in our military and intelligence communities who worked for many years to track him down. They are the ones who deserve the thanks of a grateful nation.”
Both presidential campaigns agreed to take a break from politics on Tuesday, pulling their negative ads. Obama spoke at Arlington National Cemetary to commemorate the attacks. Romney released a statement, but did not mention Obama.
“On this most somber day, those who would attack us should know that we are united, one nation under God, in our determination to stop them and to stand tall for peace and freedom at home and across the world,” he said.
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