Romney Strives to Stand Apart in Global Policy

In a speech he gave at the Virginia Military Institute, Mr. Romney declared that “hope is not a strategy” for dealing with the rise of Islamist governments in the Middle East or an Iran racing toward the capability to build a nuclear weapon, according to excerpts released by his campaign.

The essence of Mr. Romney’s argument is that he would take the United States back to an earlier era, one that would result, as his young foreign policy director, Alex Wong, told reporters on Sunday, in “the restoration of a strategy that served us well for 70 years.”

But beyond his critique of Mr. Obama as failing to project American strength abroad, Mr. Romney has yet to fill in many of the details of how he would conduct policy toward the rest of the world, or to resolve deep ideological rifts within the Republican Party and his own foreign policy team. It is a disparate and politely fractious team of advisers that includes warring tribes of neoconservatives, traditional strong-defense conservatives and a band of self-described “realists” who believe there are limits to the degree the United States can impose its will.

Each group is vying to shape Mr. Romney’s views, usually through policy papers that many of the advisers wonder if he is reading. Indeed, in a campaign that has been so intensely focused on economic issues, some of these advisers, in interviews over the past two weeks in which most insisted on anonymity, say they have engaged with him so little on issues of national security that they are uncertain what camp he would fall into, and are uncertain themselves about how he would govern.

“Would he take the lead in bombing Iran if the mullahs were getting too close to a bomb, or just back up the Israelis?” one of his senior advisers asked last week. “Would he push for peace with the Palestinians, or just live with the status quo? He’s left himself a lot of wiggle room.”

In his remarks, Mr. Romney addressed the Palestinian issue, saying, “I will 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.” And he faulted Mr. Obama for failing to deliver on that front.

But while the theme Mr. Romney hit the hardest in his speech at V.M.I. — that the Obama era has been one marked by “weakness” and the abandonment of allies — has political appeal, the specific descriptions of what Mr. Romney would do, on issues like drawing red lines for Iran’s nuclear program and threatening to cut off military aid to difficult allies like Pakistan or Egypt if they veer away from American interests, sound at times quite close to Mr. Obama’s approach.

And the speech appeared to glide past positions Mr. Romney himself took more than a year ago, when he voiced opposition to expanding the intervention in Libya to hunt down Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi with what he termed insufficient resources. He called it “mission creep and mission muddle,” though within months Mr. Qaddafi was gone. And last spring, Mr. Romney was caught on tape telling donors he believed there was “just no way” a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could work.

Mr. Romney’s Monday speech called vaguely for support of Libya’s “efforts to forge a lasting government” and to pursue the “terrorists who attacked our consulate in Benghazi and killed Americans.” And he said he would “recommit America to the goal of a democratic, prosperous Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security” with Israel. But he did not say what resources he would devote to those tasks.

The shifts, a half dozen of Mr. Romney’s advisers said in interviews, partly reflect the fact that the candidate himself has not deeply engaged in these issues for most of the campaign, certainly not with the enthusiasm, and instincts, he has on domestic economic issues. But they also represent continuing divisions.

Some are on the way to resolution. Over the summer, an “inner circle” of foreign policy advisers emerged, with Richard S. Williamson, a former Reagan administration official who briefly returned to government to serve President George W. Bush, playing a leading role. Another central player is Mitchell B. Reiss, the president of Washington College in Maryland and a veteran of Mr. Romney’s 2008 campaign. And Jim Talent, the former Missouri senator, has taken a major role in defense strategy.

Liz Cheney, who served in the State Department during the Bush administration and is the daughter of Mr. Bush’s vice president, has begun to join a weekly conference call that sporadically includes Dan Senor, who served as spokesman for the American occupation government in Iraq. Since the Republican National Convention, Mr. Senor has been assigned to the staff of Mr. Romney’s running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan, who in recent weeks has made Mr. Obama’s foreign policy a particular target.

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Republicans Seek Independent Investigation of MF Global

A growing number of Republican lawmakers are pressing Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to appoint an independent counsel to investigate the collapse of MF Global and the firm’s misuse of customer money.

In a letter to Mr. Holder, more than 20 House Republicans are calling for an outside prosecutor to handle the high-profile case. With an outsider leading the charge, the lawmakers say, the investigation will be free of political favoritism for MF Global executives with ties to the Democratic Party.

Such a move would strip authority from regulators, federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, all of which are examining how an estimated $1.6 billion in customer money disappeared from the firm before its demise on Oct. 31.

The Republican lawmakers, led by Michael G. Grimm, a Republican from New York, plan to stage a press conference in Washington on Wednesday to formally request an independent prosecutor. MF Global customers are also expected to attend the event.

The request comes as lawmakers and customers grow impatient with the progress of the federal investigation, which has yet to yield any charges or actions. Some investigators have expressed doubt that they will have enough evidence to mount a criminal prosecution.

It is unclear whether the plea for an independent prosecutor will cause criminal authorities to change course. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.

Some investigators have dismissed the effort as a partisan swipe from Republican lawmakers. The Republicans directed their concerns, in part, at Jon S. Corzine, the former head of MF Global. Mr. Corzine is a prominent member of the Democratic Party, having served as a United States senator and New Jersey governor.

At times, partisan spats have emerged at public hearings into the firm’s collapse. In March, lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee sparred after some Republican members accused the Department of Justice of failing to fully investigate the matter. The accusation suggested that Mr. Corzine, who has raised money for President Obama’s re-election, was given a free pass.

The letter to Mr. Holder, signed by Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, among others, echoed these concerns.

“Clearly it would not strain credulity for the American people to perceive a conflict of interest when an individual raises large sums of money for the president’s re-election campaign,” the lawmakers wrote.

But in the letter, the lawmakers also acknowledge having no proof that prosecutors were letting Mr. Corzine off the hook.

“We wish to be clear that, at this time, we have no direct evidence that either your office or the Department of Justice is providing special treatment in this case,” according to the letter to be sent to Mr. Holder.

The main regulator investigating the case, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has selected a Republican to oversee the MF Global matter. The Republican, Commissioner Jill Sommers, took over for the agency’s chairman, Gary Gensler, who stepped aside after questions were raised about his past ties to Mr. Corzine, his former colleague at Goldman Sachs.

A spokesman for Mr. Corzine declined to comment. Mr. Corzine has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Mr. Grimm, meanwhile, faces questions of his own. A military veteran and former F.B.I. agent, he is under scrutiny for his business practices and his ties to a fund-raiser under investigation for embezzling money. Mr. Grimm has not been accused on any wrongdoing.

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