In two-hour-long foreign policy debate, U.S. Republican presidential contenders attacked Barack Obama on Iran’s steps toward a nuclear weapon, calling in a national security debate for aggressive action from supporting an Israeli attack to imposing crushing sanctions that risk higher oil prices, Bloomberg reports.
Businessman Herman Cain said that he would support Israel in an attack on Iran if there was a “credible” plan.
“I would support Israel if it was clear what the mission was,” Cain said during a candidates’ debate in Washington. His support he said would also be conditioned on the “definition of success” of such an attack.
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, leading candidate in the latest polls, said that “no bombing campaign in Iran that leaves the regime in place would be useful.”
“Replacing the regime before they get a nuclear weapon without a war beats replacing the regime with war, which beats allowing them to have a nuclear weapon,” said Gingrich, who has supported increased covert action.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney said sanctions on Iran, which were stepped up this week by Obama, should be still tougher even if it crippled Iran’s oil industry.
