He didn't forget Poland, but he skipped Afghanistan

He didn't forget Poland, but he skipped Afghanistan

By Steve Benen

Mitt Romney returned to the U.S. yesterday after a week-long foreign excursion, which by any measure, didn't go especially well. But before the focus shifts entirely, I have a confession to make: I'd assumed Romney would make a surprise visit to Afghanistan.

The schedule called for a three-country trip: U.K., Israel, and Poland, in that order. But given that Romney has no foreign policy experience, no background in military affairs, and no real credibility on anything related to national security, I figured he'd have to make an unannounced stop in Afghanistan -- or at a minimum, to a U.S. military base somewhere in Europe.

In fact, I assumed Romney would stop in Afghanistan but had to keep the trip under wraps in advance due to security concerns, which would have been entirely understandable...It's the longest war in American history, and three months before Election Day, no one seems to know exactly what Romney's position is on U.S. policy in Afghanistan.

I'm reminded of an anecdote the Wall Street Journal recently published.


In reality, this exchange between Reagan and Baker never happened. I don't know who told Romney this or whether Romney simply made it up out of whole cloth, but Reagan dealt with plenty of national-security meetings early in his presidency -- as all presidents do.

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