CAMPAIGN 2012

Powell Has Concerns with Romney on Foreign Policy

Updated: May 23, 2012 | 12:49 p.m.
May 23, 2012 | 10:21 a.m.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell had some tough words for Mitt Romney’s foreign policy positions on Wednesday, saying that calling Russia the U.S.’s No. 1 geopolitical foe was wrong.

“Come on, Mitt, think,” he told MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “That isn’t the case.” He continued saying that the foreign affairs community has been taken aback by some of the presumptive Republican nominee’s positions.

Powell, who served under President George W. Bush and endorsed then-Sen. Barack Obama in 2008, also called into question Romney’s choice for foreign policy staffers. He said many of them were extreme.

“I don't know who all of his advisers are, but I've seen some of the names and some of them are quite far to the right,” he said. “And sometimes they might be in a position to make judgments or recommendations to the candidate that should get a second thought.”

Powell made a clear emphasis on education and building infrastructure for the future of the U.S. He has not said whether he would support the president for a second term.

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