“In Syria, I will work with our partners to identify and organize those members of the opposition who share our values and ensure they obtain the arms they need to defeat Assad’s tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets,” Romney said in a speech at the Virginia Military Institute on Monday.
Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 and many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the turmoil.
Damascus blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorists for the unrest, but the opposition accuses the security forces of being behind the violence.
The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the armed militants are foreign nationals.
“It is essential that we develop influence with those forces in Syria that will one day lead a country that sits at the heart of the Middle East,” Romney added.
The Republican presidential nominee also attacked US President Barack Obama, saying he failed to provide ‘the global leadership needed and expected of the United States.’
He further highlighted that Obama “has failed to lead in Syria,” declaring that the incumbent US president’s handling of the Syrian issue was emblematic of a president who does not “shape history” but opts to “lead from behind.”
(Press TV)