Mitt Romney slams Obama, warns of ISIS attack in U.S.


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SALT LAKE CITY — Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's tough talk about the need for an American-led war against the Islamic State that includes ground troops is strengthening his role as leader of his party.

Romney's op-ed in the Washington Post Sunday and an interview with NBC's "Today" show Monday comes amid new talk of establishment Republicans trying to convince Romney to make a third bid for the White House in 2016.

"I can't recall in recent history at least, the defeated former nominee playing a role like this," said Chris Karpowitz, co-director of the BYU Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy.

Romney taking center stage for the GOP on the issue "is certainly a sign that the Republicans have not settled on a candidate or even a small number of candidates who could carry this message forward going into 2016," Karpowitz said.

But the Brigham Young University political science professor said he does not believe Romney is hinting at getting in the race.

Nor does Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, although Wilson noted, "it is interesting that this is the moment he chooses to reemerge into our national political discourse."

Romney was asked on the "Today" show about whether his commentary on President Barack Obama's strategy against the Islamic State following Friday's attacks on Paris meant he wanted to run again.

"I'll say it again today. I'm not running. I'm not planning on running," he said. Later in the interview, he answered "No" when asked if there was anything that would change his mind about running.

"I'm very much engaged in the battles. But I'm doing it as a supporter of Republicans and of conservatism rather than as an actual candidate," Romney said in an exclusive interview on the morning news program.

Wilson said Romney's statements about not running amount to "one of those non-denial denials. Essentially what he's saying is what everyone knows, 'Right now, I'm not running for president.'"

He said Romney may "want to leave the door open just on the off-chance circumstances work out" and the former Massachusetts governor and leader of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City is drafted as the Republican nominee.

Last Friday, the Washington Post reported the "growing anxiety bordering on panic" among GOP leaders and donors about the sustained support among Republican voters for political outsiders Donald Trump and Ben Carson.

The newspaper said Romney's friends have figured out how he could enter the race late and still compete for the GOP nomination at the Republican National Convention next July.

Romney said Monday he was speaking out against an enemy he described as radical Islamists because how the nation handles the situation is "an issue of great consequence.

"The fact is, I care about the country. When you run for president, as I have, and you lose, it does not mean you stop caring. I care very deeply, and I'm concerned what the president is doing is not conducive to the country remaining safe," he said.

Obama, Romney said, has called the Islamic State a cancer but has not recognized it has become stronger, making the United States and the rest of the world vulnerable to the type of attack seen in France, Lebanon and other countries.

"It is a cancer that has metastasized much more broadly in the world, and if we don't change our course and take this seriously and go to war with ISIS, we're going to see what happened in Paris happen in the United States," he said.

That course change should include the possibility of tens of thousands of troops on the ground, Romney said, because "when you're fighting a way, you say, 'We're going to win. We're going to do whatever it takes.'"

He said it matters how the enemy is described, calling on the broader Islamic world to take the lead in promoting the faith to its followers as representing peace and understanding.

"This is not just a military conflict, it's also an ideological conflict. We have to understand that there are people in the world who do not think the way we do," Romney said. "These radical Islamists, they do not share our values."

Damon Cann, a Utah State University political science professor, said Romney's strong statements are a sign he wants to "maintain a level of popularity and a political relevance" so he can stay involved in the nomination process.

He said Romney is not looking to be a candidate himself but wants to help a fractured Republican Party struggling to settle on a candidate that can win not only the nomination, but the election.

Right now, Cann said, with so many GOP candidates in the race, they sound like "little yappy dogs coming out against President Obama" while Romney is able to speak "in a voice that will be heard loud and clear."

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Lisa Riley Roche

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