israel doesn't need public lectures about how to weigh decisions of war and peace, it needs our support. israel's democratically elected leaders will always be welcomed and respected by my administration. israel's current prime minister is not just a friend, he's an old friend. we worked together over 30 years ago at the boston consulting group. he's a man whose intellect and courage i admire, and whose family's sacrifice i profoundly respect. in a romney administration, there will be no gap between our nations and there will be no gap between our leaders. now, i've seen israel by land and by air. i've seen its narrow waist and its vulnerabilities on the golan heights, i've spent time with families that have been terrorized by rocket attacks. i've walked the streets of jerusalem and seen schools pocked by rifle rounds that had been fired from some of the

hills nearby. i would never call for a return to the indefensible '67 line because i understand that in israel geography is security. i've also studied the writings and speeches of jihadists. they argue for a one-state solution, jan all-dominating state. it is the destruction of israel they seek and negotiating and placating such" h jihadist will not create peace. i recognize the zealot rephrase of dominion, their passion for martyrdom of arab youth is only matched by the cowardice of themselves. iran wants to dominate and s

obliterate. it's a problem for america and the world. we may not know when iran will secure sufficient fissile material to threaten the entire world, but the iaea says it is fast approaching. iran wants to close the strait of hormuz. in their nuclear laboratories they prepare the means to hold hostage the entire planet. iran has long engaged in terrorism around the world most recently, of course, in georgia and thailand and in washington, d.c., they plotted to assassinate the saudi ambassador by bombing a georgetown restaurant. iran has deployed hezbollah and hamas and armed the jurnts of iraq and afghanistan, killing our sons and daughters. they war war against america, yet the current administration has promoted a policy of engagement with iran.

the president offered to sit down with ahmadinejad in first year of office. he was silent as iranian dissidents took to the streets of iran, not wanting to disrupt the potential for dialogue with iran's tyrant. the president has opposed sanctions. hope is not a foreign policy. the only thing respected by thugs and tyrants is our resolve. backed by our power and our readiness to use it. of course, the administration's naive outreach to iran gave the ito t ayatollahs they wanted, it gave them time. iran has already gained three invaluable years. as you know, there's some in the administration who argue that iran's leaders are rational and that we can do business with them. the president speaks of common interests. let me be very clear about this. we do not have common interests with a terrorist regime.

their interest is in the destruction of israel. and the domination of the middle east. it's profoundly irrational to suggest that the ayatollahs think the way we do or share our values. they do not. i will bring the current policy of procrastination toward iran toward an end. i will not delay imposing further crippling sanctions. i will not hesitate to fully implement the ones we already have. i'll make sure iran knows of the very real peril that awaits it if it becomes nuclear. i will engage iran's neighbors. i will station multiple aircraft carriers and warships at iran's door. i'll stand with the syrian people who are being mercilessly slaughtered. i know the fall of assad would not only be an important victory for liberty but also a strategic blow to iran. as president i'll be ready to engage in diplomacy, but i will be just as ready to engage our

military might. israel will know that america stands at its side in all conditions and in all consequence. of course, our strength abroad depends upon our strength here at home. my economic plans will buttress our capacity to project power and as president i'll repair and strengthen our military. president obama wants to shrink our navy, shrink our air force, and shrink our contingent of fighting men and women. i'm going to expand every one of them. the military retreat invites adventurism by the world's worst actors as we're seeing today. a strong and superior american military is the best ally peace has ever known and i don't seek military superiority solely for the purpose of winning wars i seek it to prevent wars. as president, peace will be my solemn goal. a peace not based on empty assurances but on true security and defensible borders.

this will require american strength and a demonstration of our resolve. that's why as president my first foreign trip will not be to cairo or riyadh , it will be to jerusalem. we will make clear to the world -- we're going to make it very clear, we're going to make it very clear, that israel's continued existence as a jewish state is a vital national interest of the united states. i believe the right course is what ronald reagan called peace through strength. there's a reason why the iran n iranians released the same day and the same hour that reagan was sworn in. as president i'll offer that kind of clarity, strength, and

resolve. in a romney administration, the world will know that the bond between israel and america is unbreakable, that our opposition to a nuclear iran is absolute. we must not allow iran to have the bomb or the capacity to make a bomb. our enemies should never doubt our resolve, and our allies should never doubt our commitment. this is a critical time. aipac has a vital voice. together let's achieve peace for the region and ensure a secure future for israel and america. god bless america. and god bless our friendship with israel. thanks so much. >> governor, thank you. good morning.

now, let's introduce our panelists. please welcome a longtime aipac activist and national council member from tulsa, oklahoma, stacy schusterman. a republican county commissioner from gainesville, georgia, ashley belt. from carmel, indiana, aipac activist doug rose. >> good morning. >> and last but not least, a student activist from the university of southern california, barry logren. let's go right to our first question. stacy schusterman. >> clearly, governor romney, as you addressed the question on everyone's mind is the danger of iran developing nuclear arms capability. can you discuss further your plans to stop iran? >> thank you, yes.

a number of things. first of all, we have to put in place a diplomatic isolation program much that was put in place against south africa during apartheid. i would indict ahmadinejad under the genocide convention. i would make sure that their diplomats are rejected and despised throughout the world. i'd also make sure that we have communicated our credible military options. we can't continue to express a point of view that sounds like we're more concerned about israel taking action against iran than we are about iran becoming nuclear, so we have to develop our own military options and communicate them to the world. we also have to coordinate what we're doing with israel and with our friends throughout the region to make sure that this is not something that has to be done without thought and comparison and coordination. as i mentioned in my earlier remarks, i'd also station two aircraft carrier task forces in the region, one in the mediterranean, one in the gulf, as well as other warships and

military capacities so iran can see we're at their doorstep and, of course, we want to have crippling sanctions, sanctions alone however, haven't worked too far. it took the president way too long to put in place crippling sanctions and it was an extraordinarily lost opportunity when the president failed to speak out for the dissidents, but we need to communicate to the iranian people the danger of them becoming a nuclear nation, recognize, of course, that though need to understand that america is not going to sit by and watch iran develop fissile material that can be used against us and against our friends in the region. we will simply not allow that to happen. thank you. >> ashley belt? >> good morning, governor. >> hi, ashley. >> the question is -- >> hi, ashley. >> -- what is your plan to stop the assad regime in syria and how can we get around russian and chinese intransigence at the united nations? >> maybe one of the few bright

spots in the middle east developments in the last year has been the rising of the people in syria against assad. obviously, as you know, syria is iran's only arab ally in the region. syria is the route that allows iran to supply hezbollah with weapons in lebanon. syria is iran's route to the sea, so the significance of syria perhaps distancing itself in some way from iran is a very significant opportunity for us and that's why we should be using every resource we have to encourage the movement within syria to have a more representative form of government and the to get rid of assad, that includes communicating with the allowaite even if assad is not there, and it means making sure that we are working with turkey, and to make sure the rebels are armed and can make progress against assad. it's also essential for us to

communicate that american action, military or otherwise, is not going to be determined or vetoed by china and russia, that the united nations has a role to play in the world but they're not going to tell us what the we do in order to protect our interests and to protect the interests of the people of syria and to assure that iran does not continue to have its sway in that part of the world. thank you. >> good luck in georgia today. >> thank you. >> the next question comes from doug rose. >> good morning, governor. >> hi, doug. >> good morning. what are your plans or ideas to advance the israeli/palestinian peace process? >> that's a tough one in these conditions, of course, because you have questions about whether a unity government will be formed between fattah and hamas and if that were to occur it has dramatic implications for discussions and negotiations. and you have egypt in tumult,

jordan feeling some fragility right now, you have syria, of course, in tumult. and i mean, talking about a peace process right now is a bit like setting up a tent in the middle of a hurricane. so, there has to be some settling down of a number of questions i think before the peace process is going to get its legs again. the -- and the key course in a peace process is for the parties to understand where america stands. i think one of the president's biggest mistakes with regard to peace in the middle east was confused in the palestinians as to where america's interest and america's commitment stood. my view is we have to communicate that we stand with israel. there's not an inch of distance between the two of us and that allows the palestinians to know that we will not allow them to pursue at the u.n. or anywhere else the one-state solution which excludes a jewish state. my view is we have to be clear we stand with israel. we insist that israel doesn't

make unilateral decisions, that we'll stand by our friend. >> thank you, sir. >> our final question from barry logren. >> good morning, governor, thank you for being with us. >> thank you, good to be with you. >> what are some things that stands out to you about the country and the people? >> you know, my first trip was over a decade ago, i believe, and i went with a church group from my church and a group of friends. we went really to see the historic foundation of our faith and to see the historic sights and, you know, it's overwhelming to go to a place that has such extraordinary history. then on my second trip i was also struck by the extraordinary architecture and beauty, the jerusalem stone, the fact that you have an entire city built with the same stone is just amazing. then i came back on another trip and the geographic

characteristics of israel struck me, just how hilly and turned in the city of jerusalem is upon itself, the idea of dividing a city like that seems impossible. the narrowness of the waist of israel strikes you. but i think -- i think what strikes me most in these visits has been the passion and commitment and patriotism of the people, people are still immigrating into israel. and when i met with people there and spoke with them about why they live there, i mean, most people you think they would all leave, people stay there. there's a sense of purpose and commitment which is striking, and, by the way, i have to mention dan senor, a friend who wrote that book with a colleague about "start-up nation." the commitment of people to innovation, to technology, to enterprise, to a dynamic economy, you know, all those things stand out as you visit

israel. israel has a lot of the great qualities that i love about this country as well. we share beauty. we share passion. we share our commitment to our respective faiths. we share a dynamic economy and we share values. i look forward to being a friend of israel throughout my administration if i'm lucky enough to become the next president. thank you. thank you so much. good to be with you today. >> i want to thank -- i want to thank our panel for joining us and, of course, governor romney, thank you for joining us on this busy super tuesday. >> thank you.

♪ >> iran is a rogue regime that is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. it has refused international demands that it stop its nuclear program and its policies pose a dangerous threat to america and israel. last year you helped pass some of the strongest sanctions ever imposed, the impact of those sanctions has been dramatic. for example, iran's refined petroleum imports have plummeted by 60% since a year ago. the value of the iranian currency has dropped 50% in the last month and iran is having trouble paying its bills. nearly every major international

institution is refusing to do business with iran. you have the ability to push legislation that will dramatically increase pressure on iran's economy and deny it access to the international financial institutions. for the first time stated policy of the united states government will be to prevent iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability. that's what we'll be lobbying for on tuesday on capitol hill. i'm brad gordon, and this is lobbying in a minute. ♪ >> i'm a rubber worker's son.

almost everyone in my family worked at the rubber shops. people that i went to school with, knew personally, had stayed at the rubber shops because they paid well, and all of a sudden the bottom dropped out. it just personally had a tremendous impact, and it was devastating for many people. there's still people that haven't recovered from it. they've become alcoholics. the drug depenency, a lot of things that go on in communities where the jobs start to dry up. sometimes out of difficult situations or crisis good things happen out of necessity. look at what the state of israel did, in more difficult situation, in a part of the world that's much more dangerous and problematic and without ability to sell to their neighbors and, you know, look what they've done by investing in the future, by investing in research and development and new start-up companies.

i had had an opportunity to visit a technology incubator, a private incubator, and was just astounded by the things going on there and a the light bulb went off that a city could invest in this and reap the rewards from israeli system. we assist them and they grow their business here and employee people here selling their products and there's a benefit for both of us. if someone 40 or 50 years ago would have fallen asleep and think that we would be over in israel recruiting companies, they could be shocked and say, no, this cannot be possible. this is new akron, we are involved in the world and israel is a big part of what we are doing to be able to work together and have mutual

benefits. >> ladies and gentlemen, mayor don pescuelli. ♪ he -- ♪ ♪ >> this is the saturday night before my first policy conference. i cannot wait to see what aipac has in store for us this weekend, i painted my mails so they are aipac colors. >> it's wonderful to be be here

in washington, d.c. with aipac numbers with people from all over the u.s. >> it's a wonderful opportunity to be here, i feel like we are making history. >> thank you mr. president, for being a great friend to america's greatestally israel. >> our support for israel is bipartisan and that is how it should stay. >> this is a moment that calls for an increased commitment on the part of every single person in room. >> we will stands firmly, shoulder to shoulder with -- with israel.

>> we will go to our leaders and make sure all options are on the table. >> don't let anyone that a nuclear armed iran is just israel's problem. it is not. we must stand tall for our allialli allie. it is a cherished american value. >> i walked down stairs to the village and my first thought was wow. >> there are so many new things going on this year. >> there are book signings and films, panel discussions. >> the breakout sessions are just fabulous. >> it's a place where you can make yourself informed and because of what i've learned at policy conference i'm a better pro israel advocate.

>> aipac citizen activists will be part of our largest lobby day in history. >> israel's security is not negotiable. >> we must continue to fight for the day when israel's existence is a fact recognized by every nation on the face of the earth. when perez walked out and shook hands with everyone on the stage, it brought tears to my eyes. >> friends, america is and will remain the friend of our people.

today, more than ever, the world sle needs america. >> together, we are working to build a better world. >> i know that more than half of the members of conference are here tonight. i thank you for your friendship, i thank you for your courage and i thank you for standing up for the one and only jewish state. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back aipac national president michael cassen.

>> this morning, we are yoined by a strong friend of israel and of aipac, secretary of defense leon panetta. throughout his years in congress, director of omb, chief of staff for president clinton, drkter of the cia and now as the nation's top civilian at the pentagon, our relationship with the secretary runs deep. in just his few months on the job, he has traveled to israel. he has met multiple times wi wi officials and he has been out spoken and clear in his support for the u.s./israel relationship. last september when the israeli embassy was being stormed by an

angry mob, secretary panetta took action and called the egyptian leadership to press them to step? potentially saving the lives of the israeli personnel trapped inside. leon panetta's years of experience make him uniquely qualified to confront the security challenges that face the united states at this critical time. he is an ideal leader to help our country tackle these great threats. one threat is uniquely important today. the danger posed by iran. from terror networks to the nuclear weapons program, secretary panetta is the person at the pentagon to make sure that iran is not a threat to american national security.

ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming a great friend, the secretary of defense of the united states, leon panetta. ♪ [ applause ] >> thank you, michael for that very kind introduction. congratulations, on becoming aipac's new president and thank you, thank you for your life-long dedication to a strong u.s./israel relationship.

it's my great honor to be here. and to be the first secretary of defense to address the aipac policy conference in more than 20 years. i come here as secretary is but more significantly i come here as a life long friend of israel. a few weeks ago, i had the opportunity to sit down with howard core and lee rose enberg at my office in the pentagon. they briefed me on how they saw the future of the u.s./israel relationship and together we discussed ways to strengthen, to enhance and to deepen the