Perry shows off foreign policy chops

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry touted his foreign policy chops at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, criticizing President Obama as weak in dealing with terror threats. 

“At no time in the last 25 years has the future been more uncertain and the world more dangerous than it is today,” Perry said. “Our country has entered a time of testing, and our political leadership is failing the test. … The president bows to political correctness … while making grave miscalculations that make the world less safe.”

{mosads}Perry blamed Obama for the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), arguing that the president has frittered away strongholds the U.S. once had in the region and created a power vacuum whereby the terrorist organization could rise.

“This administration’s incompetence in Iraq and Syria has allowed for ISIS to emerge,” Perry said.

The former 2012 presidential candidate who’s mulling another run also criticized the president for failing to tie the radical extremists in ISIS to Islam, a frequent criticism from many at the conservative conference. 

Obama has said he doesn’t describe the U.S. as being at war with radical Islam, because he doesn’t want to give ISIS undue credit.

“Let’s be very, very clear about who ISIS is and what they represent,” Perry said. “They are a religious movement that seeks to take the world back to the 7th century. Their aims are apocalyptic. They mean to cleanse the world of Christians, Jews, and Muslims that disagree with them. Their stated vow is to kill as many Americans as possible. It’s time for the American people to hear the truth.”

“ISIS represents worse threat to freedom since communism,” Perry continued. 
“We didn’t start this war, nor did we choose it, but we will have the will to finish it.”

He also said the Obama administration has adopted a policy of managing Iran’s nuclear threat, rather than one of prevention. 

“I believe it is fundamentally dangerous to grant Iran’s nuclear ambitions political cover,” Perry said. “Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons period.”

And he said Obama’s perceived weakness gave Russian President Vladimir Putin the opening he needed to invade Crimea.

“There are no real consequences when dictators defy America and this must change,” Perry said. “For the world to be safer, America must be stronger and for America to be safer, our borders must be secure.”

Perry is considering another run for the White House and says he’ll decide by May or June whether to run again. Perry generated buzz ahead of his Washington visit last month by announcing he had signed on more than 80 major donors to serve on his leadership PAC’s advisory board.

The former governor has admitted he jumped into the 2012 race overestimating his political skills and that his lack of preparation and subsequent missteps and misstatements ultimately sunk his campaign.

Since then, he has impressed some Republicans with his polished presentation and firmer grasp on domestic and international issues, but many still wonder if he’ll ever live down the “oops” moment that defined his ill-fated 2012 run.

Perry’s attacks against the administration could be a preview of his potential campaign message, as he’ll be seeking to convince voters that he’s a more learned candidate than the he was last time. 

The big talking Texan can still work a crowd. He walked on stage to AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” and his Texas swagger was well-received among conservatives at the conference.

“I’ve never been more certain than I am today that America’s best days remain in front of us,” Perry said. “The weakness and incompetence of our government … should not be confused with … the strength of American people.”

“We’ve survived worse: We had a Civil War, two World Wars … we even survived Jimmy Carter,” Perry laughed. “We will survive the Obama years too.”