• The foreign policy outlined by Mitt Romney charts down
two main issues in the forefront which will strengthen the United
States position as an economic and military super power. One
pertains to 'defeating the Jihadists' and the other relates to
'competing with Asia'.
 
• Romney feels that since the Asian economies are rapidly
expanding, the United States need to shed its protectionist
approach in the matters of its economy. It will need to open up
its market even further. This can be done through reducing the
tariffs, bringing down the corporate taxes and by employing a
competitive advantage in the market.

• To make the United States a more competitive economy,
Romney wants looser laws of immigration so that the economy can
take advantage of highly skilled workers. The policy is specific
to the highly skilled workers and is clear from its insistence to
keep the low-skilled workers who migrate illegally from the
South.

• Romney believes that a three pronged approach would take
care of the Jihadists. The first aspect would be the employment
of military options and pressure. The second approach would be
diplomacy which would involve the regional and international
players. The third approach would exhort the Muslims to reject
extremism. In those nations where the Al Qaeda is developing its
roots, such as Bali and Pakistan, the United States should send
its forces in order to work in synergy with the local population
to contain the terrorists.
 
• Romney believes that Iran offers a serious challenge to
America and that the US has to assure that Iran does not develop
a nuclear arsenal. Romney believes economic sanctions and similar
strategies would work. The military option may also be left
open.
		

• Obama speaks about providing a visionary leadership and
the need to renew the US global leadership position through
proper foreign policy, a renewed military along with a need to
confront the proliferation of the nuclear arsenal. The question
of nuclear proliferation is "the most urgent threat to the
security of America and the world."
 
• "This century's threats are at least as dangerous as and
in some ways more complex than those we have confronted in the
past. They come from weapons that can kill on a mass scale and
from global terrorists who respond to alienation or perceived
injustice with murderous nihilism. They come from rogue states
allied to terrorists and from rising powers that could challenge
both America and the international foundation of liberal
democracy. They come from weak states that cannot control their
territory or provide for their people. And they come from a
warming planet that will spur new diseases, spawn more
devastating natural disasters, and catalyze deadly conflicts."

• "After Iraq, we may be tempted to turn inward. That
would be a mistake. The American moment is not over, but it must
be seized anew. We must bring the war to a responsible end and
then renew our leadership -- military, diplomatic, moral -- to
confront new threats and capitalize on new opportunities. America
cannot meet this century's challenges alone; the world cannot
meet them without America."

• Barack Obama's most important foreign policy is with
respect to the question of Iraq. Obama envisages a regional
conference involving Iran and Syria as part of the strategy to
find an ultimate solution to the Iraq question.