Obama chides Romney on foreign policy in debate

U.S. President Barack Obama and his Republicanrival Mitt Romneysoughtto sell their foreignpolicystrengths to voters on Monday night,grapplingover America's role on theglobal stage and accusing one another of faltering on foreign policy concerningMideast tensions, a nuclear Iran and a rising China.

Even so,the political opponents were less at odds than in the previous two debates,takingsimilar positions on courses of action for someworld affairs.

Obama highlighted Romney's inexperience,ridiculing Romney for expressing Cold War-eraconcerns about Russia being America's biggest geopolitical foe, while Romney did his best to portray himself as an alternativecommander-in-chief with asolid grasp on world affairs.

"The 1980s are now calling and asking for their foreign policy back," the presidenttold Romney atone point.

"You said that we have fewer ships than in 1916. Well, governor, we alsohave fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military has changed." U.S. President Barack Obama

Both candidates, whom pollsters have locked in a virtualdead heat,concurred onissues, including the president's approval of the use of drone strikes to kill suspected militants, a commitment to Israel, and howto deal withIran's nuclear ambitionsand Syria's civil war.

Romneyeven prefaced one of hisfirstjabs at Obamaby congratulatingthe president for making the order to kill al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden.

The two candidates sat for an exchange moderated by CBS newsman Bob Schieffer in Boca Raton, Fla., with the first opportunity to answer a question concerning tensions in the Middle East and Libyagoing to Romney.

"What we're seeing is a pretty dramatic reversal of hopes for that region," Romney said. "But we can't kill our way out of this mess. We're going to have to put in place a very comprehensive strategy to help the world of Islamreject this radical violent extremism."

The former Massachusetts governor, trying to portray himself as more presidential,was expected to hammerthe presidenthard on the Libya question, which has been seen as a political vulnerability for the Obama camp. But hedidn'tpursue that line as aggressively as he was expected to,noted CBC'sEvan Soloman in a post-debate analysis.

The Sept. 11attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazikilled American envoy to Libya Chris Stevens, as well as three other Americans.

Obama, appearingcomfortable with his foreign policy experience,was quick to defend his record on the Middle East over the last four years.

"We ended the war in Iraq, refocused our attention on those who actually killed us on 9/11, and as a consequence al-Qaeda's core leadership has been decimated," he said.

With respect to Libya,Obama said that when the White House was alertedabout the deadly situationat the consulate in Benghazi, "we did everything we could to secure those Americans that were still in harm's way."

He added that his second pledge was to investigate what happened, "and No. 3, most importantly, that we would go after those who killed Americans and we would bring them to justice. And that's exactly what we're going to do."

Regardinginternational trade and the threat of China's giant economy, Romney said China can be a partner, but "that doesn't mean they can roll all over us and steal our jobs on an unfair basis," referencing reports of foreign hacking and alleged intellectual property theft at the hands of the Chinese.

Obama said that since he came into office, U.S. exports have doubledto China, "and currencies are at their most advantageous point for U.S. exporters since 1993."

"We believe China can be a partner, but we're also sending a very clear signal that America is a Pacific power, that we are going to have a presence there," he said. "We are working with countries in the region to make sure, for example, that ships can pass through, that commerce continues, and we're organizing trade relations with countries other than China so that China feels more pressure about meeting basic international standards."

'A game of Battleship'

Monday night's contest saw what appeared to be a more moderate Romney, who spoke of diplomatic solutions to the crisis in Syria and punishing Iran with tighter economic sanctions.

There were also moments when the president tried to portray his Republican opponent as out of touch.

• Obama's 'horses and bayonets' quip trends after debate

While Romney cast himself as a leader who would pour more resources into bolstering the U.S. military,heaccused the president of neglecting to back thearmed forces with more funding, anddrew comparisonswith naval fleets from theFirst World War to make his point.

"Our military is smaller than any time since 1917, and the navy needed 313 ships, and we're at 285, and we're headed to the low 200s," he said. "That's not acceptable for us, and our air force is older and smaller than any time since it was founded in 1947."

Obama seized on the moment, remarking that Romney was simplifying numbers and treating national securityresources like"a game of Battleship."

"You said that we have fewer ships than in 1916. Well, governor, we alsohave fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military has changed,"Obama countered. "We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them and we have ships that go underwaternuclear submarines."

The Obama retort quickly went viral on Twitter, with bloggers using the hashtag #horsesandbayonets.

Sparring over Syria response

On the subject of the civil war in Syria, Obama said the U.S. should "do everything we can to help the opposition," though the response towhat he called a "heartbreaking" scenario should be a measured one.

"Anything more we do to get entangled in Syria is a serious step," Obama said.

[IMAGEGALLERY galleryid=3207 size=small]

"But what we can't do is to simply suggest as Gov. Romney has at times suggested that giving heavy weapons for example to the opposition is a simple proposition that would lead us to be safer over the long term."

Romney said the removal of Syriandictator Bashar al-Assad is a high priority,andagreed the U.S. must not get drawn into a military conflict.

He suggested organizing responsible parties and then trying to arm those opposition groups to defend themselves against the Assad regime.

"We do need to make sure that they don't have arms that can get into the wrong hands," he added.

Both candidates claimed Israel as a great ally in the Middle East, when asked whether they would make a proclamation that a nuclear strike against Israel by Iran would be tantamount to attacking the U.S.

Obamaboasted thatAmerica's diplomaticapproach against Iran over its nuclear program,including "crippling" economic sanctions, has been effective in punishing the Islamic republic, with oil production having plunged to its lowest levels in 20 years and the economy "in a shambles."

47% favour Obama for 'wise' foreign policy

Romney echoed the president's sentiments, but rejected Obama's suggestion that he was pushing for America to take a more hawkish approach with Iran.

"I want to underscore the same point the president made, which is if I'm the president of the United Stateswhen I'm president of theUnited States we will stand with Israel. And if Israel is attacked, we will have their back," he said.

Romneysaid it's essential to understand that America's mission is to dissuade Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

"Of course a military action is the last resortit is something somebody would only, only consider if all of the other avenues had been tried to their full extent."

As CBC News reporter Keith Boag noted, it seemed Romney was determined not to make political errors at this stage in the game.

"[Romney] has been so agreeable that he hasn't defined any important difference on foreign policy," Boag wrote on Twitter. "This makes sense, given that he has used the debates to essentially tie the race, and why mess thing up with two weeks to go when [get out the vote] is now the name of the game."

The two presidential candidateswere aiming for a commanding performanceto settle the seesaw dynamics of the first two debates: Romney gave Obama an old-fashioned shellacking in the first round, and the chastened president rebounded in their second encounter.

The 90-minute faceoffat Lynn University offered the candidates their last opportunity to stand one-on-one before tens of millions of Americans and command their undivided attention before next month's election.

When it comes to their foreign policy credentials, both candidates have reasons for optimism and concern: While foreign policy has been an Obama strength throughout the campaign, some recent polls show his advantage narrowing. The Pew Research Center's October poll, for example, found that 47 per cent of Americans favoured Obama to make "wise decisions about foreign policy," while 43 per cent preferred Romney.