GOP Candidates Set to Debate Foreign Policy Tonight

The GOP 2012 presidential candidates are set to debate foreign policy again tonight, as Newt Gingrich has surged in recent polls putting him one point ahead of Mitt Romney. The GOP candidates, including Gingrich, have previously heavily criticized President Barack Obama’s Middle East policy, and the Council on Foreign Relations notes that “we will see whether the speaker’s rivals take a break from lambasting Obama’s foreign policy to attack his policy proposals.”

Freedom House released questions for the candidates, as they state the “development of a U.S. strategy to propel freedom forward poses a serious challenge. Thus far, the presidential candidates have failed to grapple with the complexities of this challenge, and the discussion has been far from illuminating, to put it mildly.” Some questions cover the issue of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, including this one addressed to all the candidates: “Saudi Arabia has emerged as a critical adversary to democratic change in the Middle East.  This was most evident in Bahrain, where a reformist movement was crushed after direct Saudi military intervention. What would you do to counteract Saudi efforts to shore up authoritarian rulers?”