Romney to Go on Offensive Against Obama's Foreign Policy in Speech

RENO, Nev. --GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney will use a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars on Tuesday to yoke the president to upcoming mandatory defense cuts and to blast his administration for endangering the military by allegedly leaking national-security secrets.

Romney will say that the defense cuts, which were scheduled as part of a bipartisan agreement last summer by President Obama and Congress to raise the debt ceiling, impair the nation's ability to fend off threats.

"Don’t bother trying to find a serious military rationale behind any of this, unless that rationale is wishful thinking. Strategy is not driving President Obama’s massive defense cuts," Romney will say, according to advance text of his remarks provided by his campaign. "These cuts would only weaken an already stretched VA system and our solemn commitment that every veteran receives care second to none. I will not allow that to happen."

Romney's second major critique targets several leaks, including details of the raid that killed Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in 2011, that appear to have emerged from the administration. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that the White House appears to be behind some of the leaks, but she said she is certain that Obama was not the source, according to the Associated Press.

"Lives of American servicemen were at stake. But, astonishingly, the administration failed to change its ways," Romney will say, calling it a "national crisis."

"This conduct is contemptible. It betrays our national interest. It compromises our men and women in the field. And it demands a full and prompt investigation, with explanation and consequence.... It is not enough to say the matter is being looked into, and leave it at that. When the issue is the political use of highly sensitive national-security information, it is unacceptable to say, `We’ll report our findings after Election Day.' ''

Romney's speech is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST. Obama addressed the group on Monday, suggesting that his rival would have kept forces in Iraq indefinitely and needling him for opposing the 2014 timeline for ending the war in Afghanistan.