Statement by Mitt Romney: "The Taliban is Clearly a Bitter Enemy of the United States"

Mitt Romney today made the following statement on Vice President Joe Biden's comments about the Taliban:

"If Vice President Biden is to be believed, both he and President Obama think the Taliban 'is not our enemy.' This statement is bizarre, factually wrong, and an outrageous affront to our troops carrying out the fight in Afghanistan. The Taliban harbored the terrorists who killed 3,000 Americans on September 11th. The Taliban continues to wage war against us and our allies, a conflict in which we have lost over 1,800 troops. The Taliban receives arms and training from Iran.  And the Taliban seeks to reinstate a tyrannical government that violently rejects basic notions of human rights and oppresses minorities. The Taliban is clearly a bitter enemy of the United States. Vice President Biden's statement to the contrary calls into question the White House's leadership in Afghanistan — or lack of it. The statement is typical of the Obama administration's foreign policy of appeasement, which sends a weak signal to our enemies around the world and undermines our standing abroad. Both the President and the Vice President must immediately explain themselves."