Santorum Was Right About Iran—When It Was Unpopular

[Valin]

WSJ: MICHAEL LEDEEN

2/25/12

 

Rick Santorum doesn't fit any of the stereotypes of current foreign-policy ideologies. He's too idealistic to be a "realist," too conservative and too religious to be a "neocon," and too revolutionary to be a "paleocon." He's an old-fashioned, feisty patriot, in the mold of Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan.

 

Mr. Santorum's hatred of tyranny traces back to his grandfather Pietro, who took the family from Lake Garda in northern Italy to Pennsylvania's coal country to escape Mussolini's dictatorship in the 1920s. Pietro Santorum worked in the mines until he was 72 and, as Mr. Santorum often says, taught him "to treasure the gift of freedom [and] to have faith in God's grace."

 

Mr. Santorum believes the United States must lead the struggle for freedom throughout the world, on grounds of morality and national security, which he believes go hand in hand. He does not like the drift away from leadership and engagement in that struggle, especially under President Obama. He often quotes Lech Walesa's recent lament: "The United States was always the last resort and hope for all other nations," Poland's first post-communist president said. "There was the hope, whenever something was going wrong, one could count on the United States. Today, we have lost that hope."

(Snip)