Rick Santorum said that the U.S. needs to reassess its strategy in Afghanistan after this weekend’s massacre in which 16 Afghan civilians were killed, allegedly at the hands of an American soldier.
The former Pennsylvania senator attacked President Obama’s tactics in the war, saying they have only emboldened the Taliban and resistance forces. He said that this weekend's shootings—along with the Koran burnings on a U.S. base and a video released weeks ago showing U.S. soldiers urinating on dead Taliban fighters—will lead to a reassessment of the current strategy.
“Any time you have such a shocking development, I think it's important to take a look and see what the situation is and whether it's possible to continue on,” Santorum said on NBC’s Today. “Given all of these additional problems, we have to either make the decision to make a full commitment, which this president has not done, or we have to decide to get out and probably get out sooner given the president's decision to get out in 2014.”
Santorum faces daunting odds moving forward in the Republican primary, with Mitt Romney far ahead in the delegate count. However, he remained confident of his chances and said he sees plenty of states where he can compete.
Santorum said he even sees the race going to the convention. If that we the case, he said, he doesn’t see the party going with the moderate Massachusetts governor.
“What chance do we have in the general election if he can’t, with an overwhelming money advantage, be able to deliver any kind of knockout blow to other candidates,” Santorum said. “We’re going to be the nominee. We’re going to be the one who provides the best vision and the best contrast to President Obama, has the best chance of winning. Governor Romney will not make it.”
Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox. Sign up for National Journal's morning alert, Wake-Up Call, and afternoon newsletter, The Edge. Subscribe here.
Leave A Comment