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Huntsman’s Crazy “No Blue Sky” Rhetoric

Another line Huntsman said more than once in his exchange with Gingrich was this (around 47:00): We need to somehow remind the world once again what it means to be a friend and ally of the United States, to allow the world to understand that there is no blue sky between the United States and […]

Another line Huntsman said more than once in his exchange with Gingrich was this (around 47:00):

We need to somehow remind the world once again what it means to be a friend and ally of the United States, to allow the world to understand that there is no blue sky between the United States and Israel.

Huntsman’s talk of “reminding the world” has come up in previous statements in connection with Iran and Israel, and in those contexts the “reminder” has involved U.S. military action against Iran and/or support for an Israeli strike. This has become one of Huntsman’s favorites, and he went further in yesterday’s exchange in describing the U.S.-Israel relationship in terms of “no blue sky” between our governments. This is identical to Romney’s view, and it is completely unworkable. As Stephen Walt explained when Romney made a similar statement at a debate:

Specifically, at one point in the debate Romney reportedly said “You don’t allow an inch of space to exist between you and your friends and allies.” He said it in the context of a question about Israel, but notice that he’s actually making a much broader claim. Such a statement might be smart campaigning but it’s dumb foreign policy, no matter which ally or friend you’re referring to.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that Romney “fails International Relations 101,” as Prof. Walt put it, but it should come as a bit of a shock that Huntsman makes the exact same mistake.

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