Romney Promises To Boost Defense Spending, Deter Iran

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Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney says he will offer a more assertive foreign policy than President Barack Obama, promising increased military spending, a strong deterrent against Iran and an investment in missile defense systems.

Romney, 64, plans to outline his foreign and national security goals in a speech this morning at The Citadel, the military academy in Charleston, South Carolina. The early primary state has a traditionally pro-military Republican base.

"America has the strongest economy and the strongest military in the world. In an American Century, America leads the free world and the free world leads the entire world," Romney will say, according to excerpts of the speech provided by his campaign last night.

The former Massachusetts governor, one of the front-runners in the race for the GOP nomination, will pledge to invest heavily in the U.S. Navy, boosting shipbuilding from nine per year to approximately 15 annually, and to sustain the carrier fleet at 11, according to his campaign.

Romney will also vow to position a naval carrier task force in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf region as a deterrent against Iran's suspected ambitions. The U.S. and its European allies accuse Iran of trying to build a nuclear weapon; Iran says its program is for civilian energy use and medical research.

The Republican presidential hopeful will propose increasing military and intelligence coordination and assistance with Israel as a hedge against Iran, and will prioritize a national ballistic-missile defense system, according to the campaign.

"The United States will apply the full spectrum of hard and soft power to influence events before they erupt into conflict," Romney will say. "The United States should always retain military supremacy to deter would-be aggressors and to defend our allies and ourselves."