Your morning jolt: Romney presses for deeper U.S. involvement in Syria, would re-examine Afghan exit

In a speech this morning at Virginia Military Institute, Republican presidential nominee will endorse deeper U.S. involvement in Syria’s civil war, and raised the prospect of delaying the exit of American combat forces from Afghanistan.

From the Associated Press:

“Hope is not a strategy. We cannot support our friends and defeat our enemies in the Middle East when our words are not backed up by deeds,” Romney plans to say in the address, adding that the U.S. should use its influence “wisely, with solemnity and without false pride, but also firmly and actively.”

On Syria:

”I will work with our partners to identify and organize those members of the opposition who share our values and ensure they obtain the arms they need to defeat Assad’s tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets. Iran is sending arms to Assad because they know his downfall would be a strategic defeat for them. We should be working no less vigorously with our international partners to support the many Syrians who would deliver that defeat to Iran — rather than sitting on the sidelines.”

On Afghanistan:

“I will pursue a real and successful transition to Afghan security forces by the end of 2014. President Obama would have you believe that anyone who disagrees with his decisions in Afghanistan is arguing for endless war. But the route to more war – and to potential attacks here at home – is a politically timed retreat that abandons the Afghan people to the same extremists who ravaged their country and used it to launch the attacks of 9/11. I will evaluate conditions on the ground and weigh the best advice of our military commanders. And I will affirm that my duty is not to my political prospects, but to the security of the nation.”

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which have been sending cash and small arms to Syria, say American foreign policy is one reason they haven’t delivered anything heavier to rebels – like shoulder-launched rockets. From the New York Times:

While they have publicly called for arming the rebels, they have held back, officials in both countries said, in part because they have been discouraged by the United States, which fears the heavier weapons could end up in the hands of terrorists.

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For those of you who missed “SNL”’s take on last week’s presidential debate:

This morning, the Gallup organization says:

Registered voters’ preferences for president are evenly split in the first three days of Gallup tracking since last Wednesday’s presidential debate. In the three days prior to the debate, Barack Obama had a five-percentage-point edge among registered voters.

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Emory University is opening up about a secretive and unpleasant part of its history – two decades of discrimination against Jewish students at its dental school. A private meeting between former Jewish students and university president James W. Wagner has been scheduled for Wednesday, according to the New York Times.

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Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle declined to step out in front on the charter school debate at a Saturday gathering of Republicans in Cobb County. From the Marietta Daily Journal:

“I am a firm, firm believer in the charter model, and when I say ‘charter model,’ that means a contractual agreement that allows and really requires school systems to go through a 12 or 18 month strategic plan really assessing what we’re doing,” Cagle said. “But I also believe in the constitutional authority that resides in local school boards. So these are issues that are somewhat in conflict, but at the end of the day, putting the best democracy is allowing the electorate to voice their concerns and they’re going to have an opportunity in November.”

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Over at the Augusta Chronicle, Sylvia Cooper had this note about the 12th District contest between Republican Lee Anderson and Democratic incumbent John Barrow:

Hearing Anderson debate anywhere, especially in Washington is something Augusta’s former first lady Gwen Young wants to avoid so much she’s going to support Barrow and host a meet and greet for him at her home.

“I’m inviting some of my Republican friends so they can meet him,” she said.

She hasn’t voted for a Democrat since she was “a young naive girl,” but “sending Anderson to Washington would be like sending Honey Boo Boo up there,” she said. “To send him up there would make it look like we’re all like that in Georgia.”

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The AJC’s Politifact Georgia today takes on a claim contained in a “chain email” that less than 10 percent of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet members have private-sector experience.

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

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