Mitt Romney gave a speech on foreign policy yesterday, focusing on the Middle East.  I didn’t hear the speech, though I’ve heard sound bites and I’ve read the transcript.  It was a mighty fine speech, if you ask me, and it can be summed up in just five short words: “Hope is not a strategy.”  Here it is in context:

I know the President hopes for a safer, freer, and a more prosperous Middle East allied with the United States. I share this hope.  But hope is not a strategy.  We cannot support our friends and defeat our enemies in the Middle East when our words are not backed up by deeds, when our defense spending is being arbitrarily and deeply cut, when we have no trade agenda to speak of, and the perception of our strategy is not one of partnership, but of passivity. 

Romney went on to define his vision for our foreign policy: “America must have confidence in our cause, clarity in our purpose and resolve in our might.”  He hit on Obama for “putting daylight” between the United States and Israel, he criticized Obama for failing to support the Green Revolution in Iran, and he called out the Obama administration for misleading Americans as to the true nature of the terrorist attack in Benghazi.  But Romney also offered solutions.  For those of you who are looking to support Romney, and need the facts to back up your support, we’ve gone through the speech and pulled out the various promises and highlights.  Here are the promises of a Romney presidency on foreign policy, based on his speech yesterday.  If anyone claims that Romney doesn’t have a plan or a vision on foreign policy and only relies on criticism of Obama, here’s your cheat sheet.

• Romney promises to put the leaders of Iran on notice that the United States and our friends and allies will prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons capability.

• Romney promises to not hesitate to impose new sanctions on Iran, and will tighten the sanctions we currently have.

• Romney will restore the permanent presence of aircraft carrier task forces in both the Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf region—and work with Israel to increase our military assistance and coordination.

• Romney will reaffirm our historic ties to Israel and our abiding commitment to its security—the world must never see any daylight between our two nations.

• Romney promises to roll back President Obama’s deep and arbitrary cuts to our national defense that would devastate our military …. And make the critical defense investments that we need to remain secure.

• Romney says he will restore our Navy to the size needed to fulfill our missions by building 15 ships per year, including three submarines. 

• Romney promises to implement effective missile defenses to protect against threats. And on this, there will be no flexibility with Vladimir Putin.

• Romney will call on our NATO allies to keep the greatest military alliance in history strong by honoring their commitment to each devote 2 percent of their GDP to security spending.

• Romney promises to make further reforms to our foreign assistance to create incentives for good governance, free enterprise, and greater trade, in the Middle East and beyond.

• Romney promises to make it clear to the recipients of our aid that, in return for our material support, they must meet the responsibilities of every decent modern government—to respect the rights of all of their citizens, including women and minorities… to ensure space for civil society, a free media, political parties, and an independent judiciary… and to abide by their international commitments to protect our diplomats and our property.

• Romney says he will champion free trade and restore it as a critical element of our strategy, both in the Middle East and across the world.

• In Libya, Romney promises to support the Libyan people’s efforts to forge a lasting government that represents all of them, and vigorously pursue the terrorists who attacked our consulate in Benghazi and killed Americans. 

• In Egypt, Romney promises to use our influence—including clear conditions on our aid—to urge the new government to represent all Egyptians, to build democratic institutions, and to maintain its peace treaty with Israel … and persuade our friends and allies to place similar stipulations on their aid.

• In Syria, Romney 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.

• And in Afghanistan, Romney promises to pursue a real and successful transition to Afghan security forces by the end of 2014.  He will evaluate conditions on the ground and weigh the best advice of our military commanders … and he will affirm that his duty is not to my political prospects, but to the security of the nation.

• And Romney promises to recommit America to the goal of a democratic, prosperous Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the Jewish state of Israel. 

If you ask me, those promises, these statements of policy, are a little more tangible than “hope,” wouldn’t ya say?