Policy Briefing: Governor Romney's Global Initiative For Values and Freedom

Key Excerpts (As Prepared For Delivery):

Governor Romney: "I know that our liberal friends shake their head when a conservative talks of a nuclear Iran, or bio-terror, or global Jihad. But for conservatives like me, facing reality is not a source of fear. It is a source of confidence. I am convinced that America - and our friends - can overwhelm any threat, but only if we acknowledge it, confront it, and respond thoughtfully and strategically." (Governor Mitt Romney, Remarks At The AEI World Forum, Beaver Creek, CO, 6/21/07)

Governor Romney: "But the integration, sustainability, and breadth of this war against violent Jihad must now take on a new dimension. We must move from tactics to strategy." (Governor Mitt Romney, Remarks At AEI World Forum, Beaver Creek, CO, 6/21/07)

Governor Romney: "I believe America must establish a Special Partnership Force, with a core leadership drawn from Army Special Forces personnel training in working with civilian governments and Intelligence personnel. This force would work hand-in-glove with local host governments. Together, in partnership, they would seek to target and separate terrorists from the local population, and to disrupt and defeat them. They would have the authority to call in all elements of civil assistance and humanitarian aid. And, where they felt it was necessary, they could call in Delta and SEAL resources. Their goal is to build national institutions of stability and freedom, and to promote the rule of law and human rights." (Governor Mitt Romney, Remarks At AEI World Forum, Beaver Creek, CO, 6/21/07)

Click Here To View Governor Romney's PowerPoint Presentation: http://www.mittromney.com/News/Photo-Albums/AEI_PowerPoint

Governor Romney's Global Initiative For Values And Freedom:

Today, Governor Romney Outlined His Global Initiative For Values And Freedom – A Comprehensive Strategy To Defeat Radical Jihad, Ensure American Security And Advance Freedom And Human Rights Across The Globe. To defeat the global jihadist threat, Governor Romney believes we must have a truly global strategy that combines our efforts with others, brings more tools of our national power to bear and implements specific, tailored strategies for every nation at risk. The strategy includes the creation of a new force to undermine jihadist efforts and win hearts and minds in contested areas.

Governor Romney Will Create The Special Partnership Force (SPF) To Mobilize All Elements Of Our National Power In Contested Areas To Defeat Jihadists. To meet today's challenges, we must mobilize and integrate all elements of national power in unstable areas where traditional civilian agencies cannot operate effectively and traditional military power alone cannot succeed. The Special Partnership Force will integrate all elements of national power under a new force with leadership drawn from a core group of our Army Special Forces trained to work with civilian governments and intelligence personnel to form a new capability that is:

- Focused On Locally-Targeted Efforts To Win Support In The Community While Identifying, Isolating And Eliminating Terrorist Elements.
- Highly Integrated And Able To Mobilize All Elements Of National Power, Including Humanitarian And Development Assistance And Rule Of Law Capacity Building.
- Closely Coordinated In Partnership With Local Governments.
- Intelligence Driven.
- Agile And Flexible In Its Operations.
- A Sustainable Effort In Contested Areas And Sanctuaries Of Jihadist Groups.

The SPF Will Build On A Long History Of Successful Efforts Against Terrorists And Insurgent Groups. While a new capability, this force draws on the lessons learned from a long history of successful efforts against terrorist and insurgent groups, including U.S. efforts under the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in World War II, post-9/11 efforts in Afghanistan, and recent Special Forces efforts in the Philippines.

As Part Of His Strategy, Governor Romney Will Strengthen American Capabilities And Revitalize Partnerships. America must move beyond our response to 9/11 and build a foundation for future security by acting to:

- Protect The Homeland: While there has been much emphasis on protecting facilities and responding to attacks, a key priority must be prevention. Today, protecting the homeland must begin far from home. Intelligence and law enforcement efforts able to address threats before they reach our shores must be a priority for U.S. and international action. This will demand new U.S. capabilities, stronger international alliances and integration of our federal actions with international, state and local efforts.

- Strengthen Intelligence By Eliminating Bureaucracy And Moving Resources To The Field: During the Clinton Administration, our intelligence community was critically weakened. The CIA workforce was slashed by almost 20% and recruitment reduced dramatically, undermining effective human intelligence. We have started to restore resources but Washington's response has focused on creating a new, expanded and duplicative bureaucracy in the Directorate of National Intelligence. We need to eliminate duplicative efforts, revitalize recruitment and prioritize efforts.

- Strengthen The Military: The Clinton Administration also devastated our military capabilities and left us dangerously unprepared. Today we need to add at least 100,000 more troops and commit to spending at least 4% of our Gross Domestic Product to the defense of our country. Promises to support our troops mean little without devoting the resources needed for the equipment, modernization, training, and health care that is critical to our military and their families.

- Strengthen Civilian Efforts And Strategic Planning: Many of our civilian national security and foreign policy structures were created decades ago. The lack of adequate planning and preparation for Iraq is one illustration of the breakdown of these Cold War capabilities. We need to ensure our civilian instruments have the ability to build joint efforts among our civilian agencies, and we need to empower Regional Deputies with clear lines of authority, budgets and responsibility to develop and execute regional plans and strategies. The National Security Council (NSC) needs strengthened capabilities to strategically integrate all elements of national power. NSC staff must be empowered and accountable for reaching out to divergent viewpoints and challenging policies and proposals.

- Strengthen Global Alliances: The failure of efforts such as the United Nations Human Rights Council has given multilateralism a bad name. But America's strength is amplified when it is combined with the strength of other nations. We need to expand alliances such as NATO and efforts among the world's leading nations to face the new threat of radical Jihad and increase our homeland security. We need to build global and regional capacities and networks of law enforcement and intelligence officials to confront Jihadists and other transnational threats.

- Launch A New Type Of Marshall Plan Unifying Non-Military Sources Of Power To Support Moderate Muslims: As President, Governor Romney will call together our Middle East allies and the major nations of the developed world to establish a Partnership for Prosperity and Progress. This Partnership will assemble the resources of all developed nations to assure that threatened Islamic states have public schools, micro-credit and banking, the rule of law, human rights, basic health care, and competitive economic policies. Resources would be drawn from public and private institutions, and from volunteers and NGOs.

>>>>Talk is cheap, and I'm sure Mitt is hoping that people don't ask for specifics.

Which is why you can look at his record as Governer. He upped funding, pay and other benefits for the Mass. National Gaurd like crazy. (Without increasing taxes and starting with a 3 billion dollar deficit.) The Mass Gaurd loves him.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney receives the 2006 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award presented by Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Dr. David Chu (right) and ESGR National Chairman David Janes (left) during the annual award ceremony Sept. 21 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Spc. Christian Fernandez, Army Multimedia and Visual Information Directorate)

I looked at the Massachusetts budger. Under Swift's last budget she had $5.9 million for the military division. Under Mitt's most recent it's up to $6.5 million so it's keeping up with inflation but hardly 'upping like crazy'. As for pay and benefits and equipment, the national guard get the same pay and benefits as the regular army does, paid by the DOD, and that is set at the national level, not the state.

Mitt seems to be wedded to the Washington doctrine that anything does better if you only throw more money at it. An extra hundred and ten billion with no coherent suggestions on where it should go and a promise to add 100,000 troops with no idea of how to accomplish it doesn't make him a military expert or stand out from the other candidates. It just means he's no different in this regard than everyone else.

>>Mitt seems to be wedded to the Washington doctrine that anything does better if you only throw more money at it.

Mitt is one of the best businessmen in North America for cutting costs. And he does understand we need to reconstitute the military. Clinotn cut it in almost half budget and personell. It is one of the reasons why we have been short in the WOT.

Mitt believes in increaseing military benefits. This is just one example in 2005.

Massachusetts Governor Romney Proposes To Expand Benefits For Military Families

Romneyâ€™s proposal would increase the death benefit awarded to survivors of Guard members killed in the line of duty from $5,000 to $100,000. The change would be made retroactive to October 2001 to include members of the Guard who served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The death benefit would apply to individuals killed in state or federal actions.

The Romney legislation also provides for state payment of life insurance premiums for Massachusetts National Guard troops who are on active federal duty. The policy, offered through Soldierâ€™s Group Life Insurance, provides up to $250,000 in death benefits. Currently, troops must cover premium costs for this optional insurance, which can cost up to $195 per year. Romney would have the state pay for the insurance.

The Governorâ€™s proposal complements legislation at the federal level recently proposed by President Bush. If signed into law, the federal death benefit would rise from $12,000 to $100,000. If a member of the Massachusetts National Guard were killed while federally activated, that means survivors would be eligible for both death benefits for a total of up to $200,000.

Here are some specific articles that attest to what Mitt has done for the Gaurd in MAss. (also if you follow the link is a ton about the WOT and upping R&D for the military.) Romney also refused to provide State Police protection to the former terrorist President of Iran when Harvard invited him to speak. He gets the WOT and the military. His dad was in charge of Wartime Production at American motors during WWII. Mitt understands the ideological war and logistical war against terror.

Article links at unmarked package's homepage

Governor Romney filed and signed into law the most significant expansion of military benefits in recent years. The new law reduced to zero the cost members of the Massachusetts National Guard must pay to attend public colleges and universities, increased twenty-fold the death benefit paid to families of members killed in the line of duty, created a new annuity benefit for Gold Star spouses and boosted the amount paid to Gold Star parents. (Romney Signs Legislation Expanding Military Benefits, November 11, 2005)

Governor Mitt Romney signed into law a measure to help state employees and their families meet their financial obligations while they are on active military duty. It provided state employees called to active military leave with the differential cost between their military and state salaries and guaranteed employees on active military duty would not lose any seniority, accrued vacation leave, sick leave, personal leave, compensation time or earned overtime. (Romney Lends a Hand to State Employees on Military Duty, November 27, 2003)

Governor Romney signed into law a bill preventing employers from discriminating against current or prospective employees who are enrolled in any of the nation’s Reserve forces including the Air and Army National Guards and the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Naval Reserves. Gov. Romney said, "The American servicemen and women of the Guard and Reserve leave their jobs, their spouses and their children to wear the uniform that defends our country. This selfless commitment should be honored by businesses across Massachusetts as we work to ensure they are treated fairly while they balance their employment responsibilities and obligations to the armed services. No business should ever put the bottom line ahead of America’s front line." (Romney Signs Law Protecting Armed Service Members, September 23, 2004)

Governor Mitt Romney signed legislation that provided disabled Massachusetts veterans with extensive tax exemptions, allowed communities to suspend real estate taxes for active duty National Guardsmen and reservists until 180 days after they return home, and provided financial relief for the families of servicemen and women killed or missing in action. (Romney Expands Tax Benefits For Disabled Veterans, August 14, 2006)

Acting to implement recommendations he made to the nation’s governors as Chair of the White House’s Homeland Security Task Force, Gov. Mitt Romney created the Commonwealth Fusion Center in Massachusetts. The core mission of the Fusion Center is to facilitate critical and timely information sharing from the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to municipal police, fire and emergency response agencies to assist in the identification and investigation of possible terrorist activities. (Romney Unveils Commonwealth’s Anti-Terror Fusion Center, May 11, 2005)

Massachusetts is one of only 12 states that do not have a capital punishment sentencing option. Governor Romney filed a bill enabling Massachusetts prosecutors to seek the death penalty in cases of first-degree murders that were committed as an act of political terrorism, assassination of law enforcement officials, or multiple killings. (Relying on Science, Romney Files Death Penalty Bill, April 28, 2005)

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