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NEW YORK -- Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Tuesday laid out his vision for the future of foreign aid, one tied closely to his domestic policy prescriptions which promote the power of free enterprise and of hard work to lift people out of poverty.
In an address to one of the nation's pre-eminent philanthropic groups, the Clinton Global Initiative (the namesake group of former President Bill Clinton), Romney outlined a foreign aid strategy that would emphasize public and private partnerships to boost the economies of developing nations.
While speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney offered his take on why current US foreign aid practices are generally ineffective, saying that building a strong nation through free enterprise is the best assistance America can provide to developing and impoverished nations.
"For American foreign aid to become more effective, its got to embrace the principles that you see in these global initiatives," Romney said, referring to his host, the Clinton Global Initiative's annual conference. "The power of partnerships, access the transformative nature of free enterprise, and leverage of the abundant resources that can come from the private sector."
Romney then outlined his views on foreign aid, which he said should be tied to the opening of markets in developing nations. The GOP presidential candidate argued that foreign aid -- coming from either government or private investments -- should be focused on developing long-term economic opportunity so that the money that is spent has a better chance of making a lasting difference.
"A temporary aid package can give an economy a boost. It can fund projects. It can pay some bills. It can employ some people for a time," Romney said. "But it can’t sustain an economy -- not for the long term. It can’t pull the whole cart, if you will -- because at some point, the money runs out.
Reuters, Getty Images
In the final push in the 2012 presidential election, candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama make their last appeals to voters.
The former private equity CEO then debuted a new model of public and private development in his speech, which he referred to as "Prosperity Pacts."
"To foster work and enterprise in the Middle East and in other developing countries, I will initiate something I'll call 'Prosperity Pacts.' Working with the private sector, the program will identify the barriers to investment, trade, and entrepreneurship and entrepreneurialism in developing nations," Romney said. "In exchange for removing those barriers and opening their markets to U.S. investment and trade, developing nations will receive U.S. assistance packages focused on developing the institutions of liberty, the rule of law, and property rights."
"We will focus our efforts on small and medium-size businesses. Microfinance has been an effective tool at promoting enterprise and prosperity, but we've got to expand support to small and medium-size businesses that are oftentimes too large for microfinance, but too small for traditional banking," he continued.
The 20-minute speech by the GOP challenger to President Barack Obama marked perhaps his most detailed presentation of how the United States might interact with the developing world in a Romney administration. It came just hours before Obama was set to address the United Nations general assembly across midtown Manhattan, in a stretch of campaigning in which foreign policy has supplanted the economy as the election's driving force.
Romney was introduced in his remarks by former Clinton, who has assumed an outsized role in the presidential race in recent weeks, as the Romney campaign elevated the former president in an effort to paint Obama as too liberal and far outside the centrist Clinton tradition. Clinton only turned about to offer an outspoken defense of Obama at the Democratic National Convention, a stirring speech which many analysts credit for boosting Obama's poll numbers immediately thereafter.
Taking the podium, Romney joked about his host's warm introduction.
"If there's one thing we've learned in this election season by the way, its that a few words from Bill Clinton can do a man a lot of good," Romney deadpanned, continuing as the laughter in the room subsided. "All I've gotta do now is wait a couple of days for that bounce to happen."
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Yes, just ignore the fact that the former President criticized every aspect your economic plan...
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the RomneyRyan plan is to END the American people's domestic aid & safety nets, and privatize everything they can get their mitts on.
But hey, in the name of more foreign business...
Mitt Romney -- the man who won't come clean on his taxes, who keeps him money away from America to avoid paying taxes, and who is invested in China, who has American workers train up Chinese workers to take their place -- probably also wants to impose more McDonald's on the rest of the world.
Mitt Romney and his "Trust Me"-on-Iran-and-foreign-policy. Mitt's billionaire handlers must think we are comatosed or dreaming, if we cannot see what a dangerous ignoramous candidate Romney is.
Mitten's doesn't have a handle on his own campaign let alone laying out a vision for the world. Oh, I'm sorry, he's piggy backing Clinton's initative.
-
O&Joe 2012
Yeah, right back to La Jolla...
Obama/Biden 2012
Rombot's Private Sector Foriegn Aid Vision:
Candidate Rombot's trust owned shares in Cnooc, the Chinese state oil
company that wants to help finance the "enemy of Israel" Iran by developing
Iranian natural gas fields. The Chinese call this "a strategic weapon". The Cnooc
state industry also look upon this and their global holdings as "mobile
national territory", as in OUR territory. Cnooc also wanted to
buy Unocal oil company in California in 2005, now wants to buy a Canadian oil
company that has holdings in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2008, Cnooc invested in
Myanmar with the "Godfather Of Heroin". When did Rombot drop his shares?
Right before the nomination.
T. Money Trim/A Play Run- "The enemy of my enemy is...F^ck it, did you bring
the money?"
Today Paul Ryan said to get the real refs back in the NFL; to give them what they want.
Shows you where his priorities are doesn't it?
Actually part of his plan is good - however he misses the point in so many areas and he doesn't really have a handle on how to get any of his ideas to fruition.
Obama/Biden 2012
Romney never built a business. Never. He was all about making a fortune in life, with little regard to the workers.
He knows nothing about our economy and what it takes for the working and middle classes to afford to raise a family.
Romney never cared. HIs 47% video is proof of that. HIding his money is proof of that. Hiding his taxes is proof of that.
Independents and republicans here in MA after Romney's little 47% video, were livid at what they heard out of Romney's mouth. Livid.
I see this working like Bain-esque vulture capitalism. Romney walks in, gobbles up all equity and capital to for the benefit of the private equity groups, straddles the country with massive amounts of debt, charges a fee for his 'services', then dumps the country and its liabilities, leaving governments to absorb the loss. Yup, there is a prosperity pact Romney can bank on. Benefit the private groups, force the losses on governments and ordinary people. A win-win for Romney, a disaster for world governments.
To be fair, I have not been an M.T. Suit fan; however this was the most clear policy statement he's issued to date, so I think we should encourage that kind of discussion. It's interesting that he took this forum to do it in, and actually had a funny line about getting a good introduction from Bill Clinton.
This is to good to pass up !!!!!
If mittens wants to end foreign aid by the federal government , that is fine by me. But he must also remember we the 99% will tell the rest of the world go fish. We will use what little money we have to help our people here at home. Charity begins at home and we want to take care of our own first. The foreign aid we send overseas now is waisted , bribe money, food supplies go to the rich or rot in warehouses . Great, take that monkey off our backs !!!! While he is at it--- KICK OUT THE U.N. !!!!
Romney is sure selling his model for fascism............
Some things you just can't voucherize.
Private investment meaning ..ship more jobs overseas.
There is an old saying about fish, but the true issue is, what do you do for the man who is starving.
Romney's ideas are good ones, they sound exactly like what CGI is all about. Like maybe he was using President Clinton's ideas, repackaging them, and telling the world they are his ideas. Maybe not, because the GOP Congress certainly is not doing anything to help the US economy. There are only two words in the GOP vocabulary, NO and CUT.
You are so over the top with scare tactics. But, I guess that's what you and the President thinks will work to get votes. Shame on you. BTW at least Romney and Ryan have a plan vs. the President who has none.
Great, now Romney wants to privatize foreign aid. Profit built in and paid for with tax dollars.
Micro credit has been largely discredited. (full description see 23 things you don't know about capitalism.)
This is first whiff of a plan from M.T. Suit that we've been able to catch, so we're all pretty excited. Some of us honestly do want an open discussion of original ideas and not just a contest of who can recite their party talking points the best. However; there is hardly a debate among rational Americans that our Congress is the most dysfunctional in the last 50 years ... and maybe ever. I think "dirp" is giving them far too much credit by thinking they even can handle 2 words.... and yes, history (and the electorate) will eventually reward the GOP for their intransigence. It is not the courage of their convictions that is the reason for their stance, but their cowardice in the face of extremism.
He specifically mentioned the Middle East but how is he going to do that when he insists on insulting them?
I guess he'll need to have another Etch-A-Sketch moment :)
What I get from his comments is that if they open up trade to our corporations he'll reward them with federal dollars. Since when is shilling for corporations a legitimate use of foreign aid? If you want American aid to feed your millions of starving people you have to let us exploit your $1 a day workers.
Yes Romney wants the US to "open the doors" of other country's with our dollars so that those country's will let HIS corporations sell their goods made in China to "developing" country's. USE OUR GOOD DEEDS TO SELL THINGS, Mr Romney "foreign aid" was meant to assist country's develop democracy's and self sufficiency, NOT AS A PROFIT MARGIN. Just another "nail in his coffin" because on the face of it many would think this as being a good cause, what it is is corporations using the government AND OUR TAX DOLLARS to perpetuate the corporate machine. DO YOU THINK ANY "SMALL BUSINESS" WILL BE ABLE TO GO TO SOME FOREIGN COUNTRY AND SELL THEIR GOODS, PURE FANTASY!!!!!!
Another liberal thread that ran all day why'll i was at work. that's right libs multi task at "work" on there bosses dollar.
Island
We've done it Obama's way for 4 years. There results are coming in now. It appears that his policies have wrought more attacks on US Embassies than all the years of Bush 43 and Clinton combined.
There is a reason for the oppressive regimes in the middle east. They have not respect for entreaties, only force. Afterall, that is how they got in power in the first place.
Larry,
You are reading something that simply isn't there.
The correct question here would be how do you do this without picking winners and losers in industries. Afterall, what Obama's policies are about is getting money to his supporters (green industries) making them winners. In doing so for the most part the taxpayer, other non "green" energy companies, and the republicans came up the losers.
What I heard from Robme was, If you want private dollars then the Corporations are going to want child labor, 12 hour work days, no sick days or vacation at least nothing paid for, and we will only pay 35 cents an hour and we can pollute the air and water without any regulations
Lyin Ryan is now referring to Romney as "The Stench".
DSB Akron: Obama panders to the green crowd the same as republicans do big oil by upholding tax breaks and promising to open up area's for drilling and removing restrictions. As for Romneys foreign aid plan the following quote from the article makes me believe i read it right. Aid will be determined by willingness to open markets for American companies. When republicans support special tax breaks, open up federal land for drilling regardless of the impact and eliminate environmental concerns their main concern is the big dollar support whatever impact on the rest of us.
Because if they ran on their ACTUAL platform, they would lose by 80%.
"We want to lower taxes on the wealthiest Americans to zero (and subsidize if possible),
Start another war (or two) to secure oil for oil oligopolies,
Remove that burdensome Medicare/Medicaid (to subsidize tax breaks for us),
Use your sons and daughters as cannon fodder,
Cut any and all social welfare programs, 'cuz if you can't hack it, you deserve to die, starve or otherwise be cut loose from society.
Limit rights of women, gays, minorities, the poor and anyone else we perceive as a threat.
Do away with the minimum wage,
Reduce (or eliminate) funding to the Dept of Education, NASA,EPA, NEA, the SEC and all regulatory bodies whose job it is to monitor corporate fraud,
Double or triple the defense budget,
And pass the 'I Love America' Act.
LONG LIVE THE AMERICAN ARISTOCRACY!!"
It's the truth, but it's not exactly a popular platform. So they have to sell every other bit of social and cultural conservative thread they can get their greasy hands on, while pressing the FEAR button as hard as possible.
Hey Mitt, in 2010 you paid $20,603 to 4 household staff....that is $5,150 a year per staff....perfect example of what you consider job creation....pay well below poverty level...keep them poor....keep them uneducated.
In 2011 return you left that portion blank...saying you "outsourced" it to a payroll company....guess you don't want to show how you continued to pay your staff way below poverty level.
and keep them without health ins so they work young and die at 55!
Dragon - that's how he plans to add 12 million jobs. He never said you could actually make a living off those jobs - just that he'd add 12 million.
Obama/Biden 2012
Seeking,
The CBO said that if there were no changes to current policy 12 million jobs would be created over the next 4 years.
So why isn't Romney promising even more? Does he have no ideas that are better than current policy?
Dennis - I still think 12 million is a stretch - but I could be wrong - hope I am. But, saying you're going to add them without saying how is the real problem.
Obama/Biden 2012
It's the same old trickle down, supply side economic BS. The results are a predictable as the season change. The richest of the rich get richer, the middle class shrinks, the poor get poorer, the debt explodes. What happens next is massive speculation followed by an economic crash. That happened in the 1880, in 1929 and in 2008.
Were they full-time? Or are you making assumptions.
What mindless drivel,
Yaaawn, we bomb Iran yet??
Did it ever occur to you that his staff may be part time and not full time workers who get paid by the hour for work they actually do?
His big "success" was Staples which has a starting wage of $8.15 an hour with few benefits similar to McDonalds and Wal Mart.
Jersy Girl 1, No, I did not think Romney used "temps" to DO HIS HOUSEWORK. Do YOU think the size of his houses( notice PLURAL, HOUSES) USED A PERSON PART TIME? I think not! Do you think Ann Romney COOKS? Do you think Mitt cleans the pool, or cut the grass, or prune the roses, or paint the house, or DO ANYTHING A NORMAL HOMEOWNER DOES? If you believe he does, the I've got some prime oceanfront property to sell you in Montana! $5000 a year is peanuts, in his neck of the woods that wouldn't buy enough milk for a family of 4.
how come hes always invoking bill clinton?
Because Bill Clinton appeals to independents, and he's desperate.
He's jealous? He's a closet Liberal? He sucks as a Conservative? He hopes some of the Clinton Magic rubs off?
And a lot of Republicans voted for Bill Clinton - and still would today if he could run. He wants to align himself with anyone he thinks is a winner.
Obama/Biden 2012
because everyone knows Bill Clinton gets more "tang"?
If Bill Clinton could run today, he would win in a landslid. If George W. Bush could run, he would have a hard time carrying Texas. But Romney is running and he's going to be defeated. And remember Republicans, if you don’t come up with some new ideas and find an entirely new group of leaders, we just may have another President Clinton in 2017.
Hillary Clinton/Colin Powell - 2016!!!!!
Hillary Clinton/John Huntsman - 2016!!!
Hillary Clinton/Bill Clinton - 2016!!
You get my point. :O)
Clinton deregulated the banks that led to the melt-down. He sold out to Sandy Weill too.
He also signed NAFTA into law, the mother of all out-sourcing.
Took advantage of a 19 year old intern in the oval office.
Bold faced lied to us on national T.V.
One of two president's to impeach.
Ya, this the guy Democrats hold up as a shining example.
Ya, hold this guy
Publius...It would seem that it's YOUR guy that is holding Clinton up as a shining example. Why aren't you chastising Miss Mittsy for his desperate attemot to ally himself with Clinton?
Typical thoughtless teabagger. Blame the Democrats for what the Republicans are doing because that is what you are being told to do.
You expect him to quote Bush?
Publius* next time you are near College Station, Texas, stop in to the George H W Bush Presidential Museum and learn what you don't know about NAFTA so you can stop blaming it on Clinton.
So now Mitt wants to privatize foreign aid. Profit motive for helping those in the Third World will be so effective. Is there nothing they don't want to make a buck off of?
Steeler Fan, isn't one of the purposes of foreign aid is to get those countries to a point where they can conduct business across the globe? Those businesses are private entities. Mitt's proposal just fast tracks things a bit. No harm in that is there, or do you prefer we just send our tax money overseas with no real end goal in mind? And for the 14 people who "liked" this post from Steeler Fan, do you really think things through when you read them or do just like everything that is anti Romney. Come on people, let's think here.
DanInCO -- You should read Confessions of an Economic Hitman. Steeler Fan may be speaking more truth than you realize.
Private equity goes into to third-world countries with promises of interest-free loans for development, usually for mineral or other resource extraction. At the end of the day (to use a tired phrase) the resources are extracted and the ordinary people are left to clean up a polluted mess, much worse off than they were originally. On paper, though, it looks like a great success, and the "benefactors" even make a lot of money.
Sound familiar? Kind of like how Bain makes money while screwing over the little people? Does it sound like something that would make sense to someone like Mitt?
Wow, is there anything that Romney wont try to privatize. With Romney at the helm what will the government do after its all in the hands of the private corps???
To DanInCo - I just like everything that is anti Romney because Romeny is a dick.
Just what I was thinking. Like we really need the likes of Haliburton or Exxon Mobil becoming involved in our foreign policy. Too many countries hate us now for our past foreign policy blunders. We don't need to make it worse.
dgale6-- is there anything that obama with not do to change to socialism. to love obama is to love socialism to work and give it to other that don't want to work
desertgranny....... Definition of socialism please........ Basically it is a system that recognizes the workers...... not the ones that do not work. Everybody thinks socialism is to take from those that work and give to those that do not....... \please educate ourself and others. Capitalism without some regulation can actually take full advantage of workers.... no ins... long hours... child labor.... because labor would be considered an unlimited resource. So it does have to be regulated to maintain a society that works.
What a snake Mittens really is:
-use the Presidency to plug/privatize Corn/Rice production at the UN
-Use Education Nation to plug Bain Capitals - Bright Horizons private school
This man would sell his own Parent's to the Devil if would make him a buck.
Disgusting!
YOU are expected to pay Top Dollar to Mitt and his Plutocrat buddies for Food, Education, Health Care, everything. And YOU will be grateful to those Plutocrats.
I think anything that saves taxpayer dollars is a smart idea. I think education should be privatized. Just read that test scores are lowest ever. That does not bode well for the Department of Education. Just goes to show that Washington is not the end all be all that Democrats like to tout.
jersy girl
If you think education should be privatized, what would they charge per student? They could select whom they wanted, excluding others. Set their own curriculum, including no science or math courses, ignore evolution, teach religion as they please. This is a great idea.
If Romney treats foreigners the way he's dealt with US companies I predict disaster.
"PROSPERITY PACTS"......that plan sounded really nice Gov. Romney!!!....but I'm wondering, if the good Governor Romney realized he was appealing to "IMMIGRANTS" ........
TEAM/ROMNEY WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR IMMIGRANTS LATELY?
Now we are back at square one......
WE ARE A NATION OF IMMIGRANTS...
WE ARE A NATION OF LAWS...
................FORWARD.................
.......OBAMA/BIDEN 2012......
I like the idea of opening up microfinancing to include larger businesses. Right on, Mitt!
Romney/Ryan 2012 - A New Hope
I'll give Willard some credit for his ideas. Maybe after November when he has lots of time on his hands, he can work for Bill Clinton in trying to see if his ideas work. The Clinton Foundation is funded by private donors after all.
More like Two Dopes!
Apparently, he believes that the office of the president is equivalent to the master of the universe. If a country offers up any backtalk we could just lob missiles at 'em.
Will Mitt ask permssion from Israel to fund those programs? What will he do if they tell him no? Sorry, Mitt, still not buying what you are selling.
Hey Mitt,
Why don't you focus your efforts at trying to help people here in America...ya know like Americans first.......Then worry about the private investors that want to exploit third world countries.
As an American, I don't want Mitt's "help". Nothing good could come from it.
Vote for the president you believe will protect our production inside the USA of high tech and heavy resources and appliances / consumer / agricultural / construction products and equipment, so we will not be setting ourselves up for eventual control from other countries that make products we cannot live without, example: For some reason the largest steel beams (and maybe more) for the new biggest bridge being built in our country in decades, the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge came from China, and I think they sent Chinese workers here for parts of that installation.
That was decided by the state of California. POTUS didn't have anything to do with it.
Be an informed voter.
Started in Swarzeneggers term I believe.
All because the union pandering requirements of construction were to costly to meet. Democrat driven ideas.
Cheap foreign labor and sell in foreign countries so a few already rich guys can get richer. Great plan Govnah. What about American jobs and American markets? We have poor people who are currently unemployed who would love to have a job that pays a living wage but you won't go for that because there is no huge profit for you and your greedy pals in it.
I support President Obama because he supports America first.
So what you're saying is that encouraging international business with third world countries is bad for this country. I suppose we could just leave them to themselves and let them continue to bread hatred for this country, growing terrorists who want to kill us. Yah, that would be even better for our country!
Two things that won't happen on Romneys watch... any conditions on the 3 billion a year sent to the jewish theocracy and cracking down on China since millions of his own money is tied up in ventures in the commie nation...
"Private-sector foreign aid"....? Isn't that code for "outsourcing jobs"????
No it isn't you bafoon....Jesus is it against the Liberal Adgenda to get an education! It sure seems that way a lot of the time...
Hey, Justanother, maybe you should learn grammar and spelling before you call people names ... be an adult. You might like it.
OH no everybody freeze... it's the grammar police... how bout STFU! I bet you knew exactly what I was talking about and still couldn't resist to pull out your hall monitor badge and little pink whistle.....
Lord please give me patience today... cause if you give me strength....I'm gonna need bail money to!
Of course it's a code for outsourcing jobs. Company A goes to developing country and says "Hey, we'll build a factory here and call it Foreign Aid."
Then developing country provides labor at a pittance. Company makes money. More American jobs disappear and Romney's buddies at Bain make more money.
If Mitt runs the country the way he ran Bain, we are all fired. Our American citizenship will be outsourced.
COLONIALISM!
Wow! Is that a new concept?
Holy Bat S*!t
Is he pandering to boost th investments for hos offshore opportunities?
No, Romney's plan leads to mutual respect and peace between the countries that would participate. Shame on him for that.
Romney doesn't care about "mutual respect and peace between countries" but rather opportunism to make more money from developing countries. In other words he wants to give them a pittance before he robs them blind and outsources more American jobs.
Come on kids, play nice. Mitt is about nothing but the almighty dollar. He has everything anyone could want and his only goal left is to become King, oops...I mean Pres. Why is he running? To help the little guy? Yeah right. There is nothing worse then the thought of Mitt as President then that disgusting wife of his as 1st lady.
Nice to see that Romney recognizes that people in third world countries are struggling, but all they need is capital, access to markets and jobs, and a future with a modicum of security on the horizon.
While addressing the needs of the third world, he inadvertently described the American middle class.
Its like a TREATY with the Native Americans.
NONE of which were ever honored.
US Government: 0 for 200
We'll help build your infastructure as long as all roads lead to US banks.
On first blush, this isn't a bad concept, but call it what it is....
Bear, I think it is called 'colonialism'.
Yes it is.
He spoke very well for a change, but be honest, he was just describing the principles of the Clinton Global Initiative with a profit motive thrown in.
His speech was designed to make himself sound as intelligent as Clinton and to flatter the former Pres as well.
As much as we laugh and ridicule Mittens gaffs, you really have to question his basic intelligence. He has said some pretty stupid things! Getting rich the way he did doesn't necessarily equate with intelligence. With enough seed money, a lot of people could get rich using his methods.
Tell us about your investments in China, Mittens. Then tell us how you'd "crack down" on them.
The "transformative nature of "free enterprise"???
At best, willard is a clueless, blathering rube.. At worst a corporatist willing to see the multinationals, continue to exploit third world countries to pad their bottom lines..
Thinking that willard cares one whit about the inhabitants of developing countries is childishly naive..
"""The power of partnerships, access the transformative nature of free enterprise, and leverage of the abundant resources that can come from the private sector."
Foreign aid is a tiny sliver of the federal budget. Most of our genuine "foreign aid" comes in the form of privately-contracted military equipment and stationing troops abroad. We have troops still stationed in Germany although the USSR is no longer a threat to Europe. And the Germans don't WANT us to pull out because the influx of dollars is now an integral part of their economy. And of course we have troops (= $) in places like S. Korea and now Australia.
We're also building a missile shield on Russia's border, designed to protect somebody from non-existent Iranian missiles. The Polish people didn't want the missiles. It would make them Target Number One if war broke out. But the government wanted them and the staff and equipment and dollars they would bring. The only condition was that we help pay for all the Polish Armed Forces, which we did.
I didn't hear the speech. Did Romney mention the expansion of American private enterprise and its boundless resources by outsourcing jobs to countries with cheap labor?
Two years ago, a Midwestern state called in a consulting firm to help trim its budget and reduce spending. They brought in a company from India to get the job done.
There are frequent calls to cut off all foreign aid to Pakistan. This is known as "first order change." We send Pakistan not just humanitarian aid. Five years ago we modernized their air force by selling them a fleet of new F-16s built by American companies. Your private dollars at work.
If we stop the aid to Pakistan, what do we expect them to do -- shrug and behave themselves like children who have been scolded by a parent? More likely they'll turn at once to China for aid. China is their natural ally in their 60-year ongoing war with India.
I think it's time for a little quid pro quo foreign policy, and Mitt has a good idea to help 3rd world countries build a solid economic foundation. This in turn will help lead to political decisions made by these leaders from a solid footing, and likely will help us around the world.
This of course flies directly in the face of Obama's foreign policy, which seems to be "can't we just all get along because I'm Obama, the anointed one?"
Owning foreign lands/debt/assets never leads to good feelings abroad.
If you need proof, ask how people here feel about China owning so much of our debt.
I doubt Romneys plan to force countries to accept exploitation in exchange for aid instead of current policies of providing aid to encourage pro American policies is best. You really believe tying aid to opening up their markets will do anything except create resentment?