Romney distances himself from Bush-era neoconservatives

Aides say Mitt Romney is aiming for a foreign policy that would resemble President Reagan's. He wants to assert U.S. leadership but 'with a more cautious view of where and when we use force.'

By Paul Richter, Washington Bureau

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A senior Republican strategist close to the campaign said Romney was groping for a "version 2.0" of the foreign policy of the Bush era, but one that would more resemble President Reagan's in the Cold War. It would seek to assert American leadership and values with a powerful military and bold rhetoric, but "with a more cautious view of where and when we use force."

The imperative is to avoid "the mistakes and miscalculations of the last decade," said the strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak about internal deliberations. "The Bush foreign policy is a terrible brand."

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Romney doesn't have a single dominating figure who oversees his foreign agenda, relying instead on a group of about 200 outside advisors, campaign staff and other experts. About two-thirds are veterans of the Bush administration.

Among them are several prominent neoconservatives and defense hawks, including Elliott Abrams, Bush's deputy national security aide; Elizabeth Cheney, a former Bush State Department official and the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney; Dan Senor, former spokesman for the U.S. occupation forces in Iraq; John R. Bolton, Bush's ambassador to the United Nations; and Robert Kagan, a Reagan administration aide and conservative intellectual.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-romney-foreign-policy-20121015,0,2683558.story