What would 'President Romney' do about Syria?

Judging from headlines, one might think Mitt Romney has a radically different approach to the Syria crisis than President Obama: “Romney slams Obama Syria policy, calls for arming rebel forces” (The Hill) is just one example. As Syria continues to unravel, Mr. Romney continues to criticize the president – even giving Mr. Obama an “F” grade in foreign policy partly for his handling of the crisis. Romney devoted much of his speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno, Nev. Tuesday to lambasting Obama’s foreign policy.

How then would “President Romney” handle Syria? Contrary to his condemnations, Romney would effectively have the same policy as Obama. The lack of specific alternatives on Syria in his VFW speech only underscores that reality.

Romney suggests that the president has done little except “sublet” the crisis response to Russia and the United Nations. Obama’s actions are even “emboldening Assad and discouraging the dissidents,” according to the GOP candidate. On Monday, he told CNBC “I think from the very beginning we misread the setting in Syria” and that “America should've come out very aggressively from the very beginning and said Assad must go.”

But Romney himself hasn’t laid out a comprehensive policy for Syria (nor has the administration, for that matter). A close look at the hodgepodge of statements from Romney and his advisors paint a clear picture of what his policy might look like if he were president.

On the most hawkish option, military intervention, Obama and Romney see eye-to-eye. They have both rejected misguided calls for a Libyan-style operation. Romney has publicly recognized the inefficacy of a no-fly zone, in opposition to members of his own party like Senator John McCain who continue to call for such measures.

In a GOP debate last November, Romney toyed with the idea of creating a “no-drive zone,” but he has yet to mention the idea since. Even Romney confidant John Bolton, a hawk among hawks, recognizes the “remote” likelihood of success for any large-scale military operation.

Diplomatically, Obama has largely pursued policies that Romney’s foreign policy team supports. Take, for instance, the US relationship with the Syrian National Council (SNC) – the umbrella opposition group of mostly expatriate Syrians. In December of last year, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the council a “leading and legitimate representative of Syrians seeking a peaceful democratic transition.”

Two weeks later many of Romney’s top foreign policy advisors signed an open letter supporting “direct contact” with the SNC. The letter stopped short of calling for official recognition of the SNC, and Obama has thus far demurred on extending it due to questions about the group’s legitimacy among Syrians.

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