Would Mitt Romney have given the order to authorize the daring mission that ended in Osama bin Laden’s assassination?

It’s impossible to say, but that hasn’t stopped President Barack Obama’s campaign from stoking doubts that a President Romney, essentially, wouldn’t have had the guts to make that order.

“Thanks to President Obama, bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive,” Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday in a campaign speech. “You have to ask yourself, if Gov. Romney had been president, could he have used the same slogan – in reverse? “

Jason Cohn / Reuters

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney addresses supporters at a rally at Consol Energy's Research and Development facility outside Pittsburgh, Pa.

Marking the one-year anniversary of the mission that successfully killed bin Laden, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2011 terror attacks, has undoubtedly given the Obama campaign an opportunity to remind voters of one of the president’s biggest accomplishments on foreign policy and national security.

“He took the harder and more honorable path, and the one that produced, in my opinion, the best result,” former President Bill Clinton said in a web video released Friday by the Obama campaign – one that directly asks the question about what Romney would have done if he were in that position last year.

But some Republicans are crying foul. For starters, the Republican National Committee was eager to highlight the 2008 Obama campaign’s own complaint against then-rival Hillary Clinton, accusing her of trying to “invoke bin Laden to score political points” by depicting the infamous al-Qaida leader in a campaign ad.

“I think it's irresponsible and unfair,” said Brian Hook, a foreign policy adviser to both President George W. Bush and former White House hopeful Tim Pawlenty, said of the Obama campaign’s questioning of Romney. “What person running for commander in chief doesn't want to bring bin Laden to justice?”

“In my experience, every president will try to do the right thing,” said Charles Hill, a conservative foreign policy expert and lecturer at Yale University.  “You can't say one person would do it and another person wouldn't; it depends on the operational plan.”

And Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, protested in a statement: "No one disputes that the President deserves credit for ordering the raid, but to politicize it in this way is the height of hypocrisy. The Obama campaign asks whether Mitt Romney would have made that decision. Of course they want to focus on this one tactical decision because the other decisions this president has made have harmed our national security."

By most press accounts, the decision to authorize the mission that killed bin Laden was fraught with difficulties; there was no “slam-dunk” guarantees that the risky strike would end with success. Biden himself has said that he had counseled the president against the Special Forces mission.

The Obama campaign’s effort to translate that decision into a political chit is two-fold. First, they’re looking to build up the president’s stature as a commander in chief, and their efforts are meant to cast Obama as a figure of fortitude in the face of Republican criticism that he’s too weak.

The other prong – and this is where the claim that Romney wouldn’t have acted comes into play – is intended to seize on the instances in which the former Massachusetts governor’s foreign policy positions have seemed muddled or, worse, inconsistent.

The crux of that argument stems from comments Romney made in 2007 when, in reference to bin Laden, Romney said “it’s not worth moving heaven and earth and spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.”

That comment, said former Gen. Wesley Clark, a onetime Democratic presidential candidate and surrogate for the Obama campaign, made it fair to question whether a Romney presidency would have ended in the same outcome of killing bin Laden.

Clark argued that Obama deserves credit not just for ordering the mission, but for initiating an overall shift in strategy that helped collect the actionable intelligence that allowed the president to make the call he did.

“It’s not quite a fair comparison to say Gov. Romney might have decided to go after him, too, if he had that information,” Clark said. “But that information is the result of thousands of man hours of effort at the exclusion of not focusing on other things. The decision was just one step of many that led to the takedown of Osama bin Laden.”

Rudy deLeon, a senior vice president of national security and international policy at Washington’s Center for American Progress, concurred.

“You had actionable intelligence, which is something the president doesn't always get. But in swinging the forces from Iraq to Afghanistan, you were able to swing with it the kind of surveillance that was able to get you actionable intelligence,” he said, referencing the surge in troops in Afghanistan that Obama had authorized.

“He basically took on his own party. That's not a sign of weakness or indifference,” deLeon added.

Hook cautioned, though, against overly politicizing the bin Laden mission, referencing the instance in which Obama said he was wary of appearing to “spike the football,” referring to the photos of a dead bin Laden.

“Didn't Obama say we shouldn't be spiking the ball in the end zone?” Hook asked. “Well, isn't this spiking the ball in the end zone?”

FAIRFIELD, Calif. -- Rick Santorum delivered what was billed as a major foreign policy speech at One Jelly Belly Lane in his latest in a series of attempts to invoke images of conservative icon Ronald Reagan.

Speaking to a crowd gathered at Jelly Belly Candy Company here, the candy manufacturers who produced Reagan's beloved jelly beans, Santorum's policy address was part homage to the former president and part blazing critique of his chief rival for the GOP nomination, Mitt Romney.

A picture of Reagan's face made out of jelly beans hung outside on the room where the former Pennsylvania senator told supporters the spirit of the Great Communicator had been lost.  Santorum was not shy about citing Romney as an example of a politician who does not fit the Reagan mold.  Santorum said Romney's inconsistencies on issues like gay marriage and abortion rights.

"We as conservatives need to stand up and fight for a candidate that can win this general election, who stands solidly, firmly on the 3 legs of the stool that brought the Reagan coalition together," Santorum said, referring to Reagan's belief in free enterprise, strong national defense, and conservative social values.

But it is an ad in Wisconsin which Santorum says paints him as an abortion rights advocate that GOP hopeful seemed particularly bothered by.

"I find it sort of remarkable that Gov. Romney is out running ads in Wisconsin right now basically saying I'm not pro-life," Santorum said, following with a list of the anti-abortion rights legislation he help push in Congress.  "To suggest somehow or another that I am not pro-life, again, is a disingenuous game that is played by politicians who seek power instead of trying to be truthful to the American public," he said.

Santorum laid out a national security platform based in strengthening the U.S. relationship with its allies and holding other countries accountable, two things he criticized Obama for failing to have done.

"If you are a foe of the United States, and you do not respect the United States and our security interests, you will learn to fear the United States and your security interests," he said to applause.  "Of all of the failings of this president, perhaps the greatest is on national security.  And folks that’s saying something."

Visiting California meant a break from campaigning in Wisconsin, where polls showed Santorum struggling to keep pace with Romney.  And yesterday, more bad news as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) gave his much anticipated endorsement to Romney.

"If an endorsement hurt me, I wouldn't be here," Santorum said while greeting voters after the event.

The candy company was Santorum's only campaign event in the Golden State, which holds its primary June 5.  He spent the earlier part of the day fundraising in the Los Angeles area.  And despite their late primary, the GOP hopeful seemed confident the state would be important this cycle.

"California doesn't get a chance very much to play in presidential politics, of late," he said.  "But you will in this presidential primary."

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called for U.S.-led airstrikes against government forces in Syria on Monday, the first such call from the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

"The United States should lead an international effort to protect key population centers in Syria, especially in the north, through airstrikes on Assad's forces," McCain said in a speech on the Senate floor this afternoon.

According to McCain, the US-led airstrikes would be done with the goal of establishing and defending safe havens in the north of Syria, which would provide opposition forces a base to plan further military operations.

The call from McCain comes just a day after Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney said he was "not anxious to employ military action" involving Syria, but said the country should "keep our options open."

McCain admitted that public sentiment in the country is against more foreign military involvement after two exhausting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but says that the US has a responsibility to step in to lead international opposition to the Assad regime.

"If Assad manages to cling to power -- or even if he manages to sustain his slaughter for months to come, with all of the human and geopolitical costs that entails -- it would be a strategic and moral defeat for the United States. We cannot, we must not, allow this to happen," McCain said.

Before they began a closed-door, one-on-one meeting, President Obama told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States “will always have Israel’s back” when it comes to the nation’s security.

The meeting in the Oval Office, which was to be followed by a lunch, came a day after the president addressed the annual gathering of AIPAC, the largest pro-Israel lobbying group, in which Obama assured the crowd that his policy toward Iran was to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon, not “containment." Obama pointedly refused to rule out using military force to disrupt Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Obama reiterated that statement today during remarks to the press before his private meeting with Netanyahu.

“My policy is prevention of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. And as I indicated yesterday in my speech, when I say all options are at the table, I mean it,” he said.

The president also said, as he did Sunday, that the United States believes diplomatic efforts still have a chance of effectively dissuading Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons.

“We do believe that there is still a window that allows for a diplomatic resolution to this issue, but ultimately the Iranians' regime has to make a decision to move in that direction, a decision that they have not made thus far.”

While Iran’s nuclear aspirations are taking center stage this week, Obama also mentioned the ongoing conflict between Israel and their Palestinian neighbors, saying that he would discuss with Netanyahu the possibility of “a calmer set of discussions” between the two parties.

“It is a very difficult thing to do in light of the context right now, but I know that the Prime Minister remains committed to trying to achieve that,” he said.

Netanyahu, whose relationship with Obama was succinctly described by the president as “functional”in an interview last week, thanked Obama for the “strong” speech at AIPAC the day before.

He emphasized that the security interests of the United States and Israel are intertwined, given that Iran views them both as Western adversaries.

“For them, you're the Great Satan, we're the Little Satan.  For them, we are you and you're us. And you know something, Mr. President -- at least on this last point, I think they're right. We are you, and you are us. We're together,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu is expected to address AIPAC at the group’s gala event this evening.

Obama to AIPAC over the weekend: "Iran's leaders should know that I do not have a policy of containment. I have a policy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. And as I've made clear time and again during the course of my presidency, I will not hesitate to use force when it is necessary to defend the United States and its interests."

“For Mr. Obama, the speech, before some of Israel’s loudest and staunchest supporters in the United States, was a political high-wire act, an effort to demonstrate his commitment to Israel’s security without signaling American support for a pre-emptive strike against Iran. And it was an effort to confront the Republican presidential candidates who have turned the Iranian nuclear issue into the top item in their litmus test for demonstrating support for Israel,” the New York Times adds.

The New York Daily News: “The strongly worded speech before the pro-Israel lobby came on the eve of the commander-in-chief's tense White House head-to-head with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who fears a second Holocaust should Tehran get the bomb.”

The New York Post: “Israel will wait until after the US presidential election in November to bomb Iran’s nuclear plants, under a deal being hashed out by the two allies this past week. President Obama plans to reassure Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow at the White House that the United States will make sure Iran doesn’t build a nuclear weapon, as long as the Israeli prime minister delays his attack plans, according to a report in The Sunday Times of London.”

‘A sense of his soul?’ Vladimir Putin was elected Russia’s president. The New York Daily News: “Czar-in-the-making Vladimir Putin will keep his stranglehold on the Kremlin for another six years. The 59-year-old autocrat was elected president of Russia on Sunday in an election that observers charge was riddled with fraud, intimidation and ballot-box stuffing.”

The Moscow Times: “Tearful Putin Declares Victory at Rally.”

A Catholic Cardinal continued to ramp up the rhetoric against Obama and birth control.

In addition to that OTHER interview on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports" today, former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman made some news on the program, saying he disagrees with some of Mitt Romney's statements on China.

Mitchell: You support Romney. Romney bashes Obama today in op-ed piece on China-is Mitt Romney wrong?

Huntsman: Well, let's just say that it's not unusual for candidates to be saying certain things about China. I've seen a lot of candidates who later became president who use a lot of rhetoric. It's much easier to talk about China in terms of the fear factor than the opportunity factor. Uh, I would disagree with some of what Gov. Romney has said and it's not surprising that Republicans disagree with each other from time to time. 

Mitchell: But why support him then?

Huntsman: Well, you're going to disagree on the issues from time to time. I happen to think that on the economy he's best placed to do what needs to be done in terms of economic development and the creation of jobs. When it comes to China, I think it's wrongheaded when you talk about slapping a tariff on Day 1.

Mitchell: What about those who say anything to play to audiences and then they have to live with it -- which leads to bad foreign policy choices. What would be your advice to Mitt Romney, Obama, or Rick Santorum?

Huntsman: Less pandering -- take a step back and analyze with a clear vision. The most complicated, the most challenging, and the most important bilateral relationship we have in the 21st century.  It's not going to be based on sound bites, it's not going to be based on short-term fixes and solutions-it is a long-term play between our people.

There are lots of photos attached to stories today about Obama’s housing policy event yesterday with him holding up his one-page mortgage application form. (Here, here, here.)

Bloomberg/Business Week: “Obama Uses Housing as Foil to Romney’s ‘Hit Bottom’ Strategy.” “Opponents said the president’s plan, announced yesterday, was as much about politics as the policy goal of easing access to refinancing for homeowners with negative equity. It helps the White House frame differences with Republican presidential candidates and with Congress, which for two straight years has rejected a bank tax that he said would be used to finance the program.”

National Journal: “President Obama’s housing proposal reflects campaign strategy more than a viable policy agenda, as the administration tries to flip the struggling housing market from economic liability to political asset with a long-shot plan that Chicago can argue is better than the GOP alternative: no plan at all.”

The Washington Post: “The United States hopes to end its combat mission in Afghanistan by the middle of next year, more than a year earlier than scheduled, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Wednesday. His remarks reflected a growing sentiment within the Obama administration that its approach to Iraq, where the official end of U.S. combat operations came 16 months before the final U.S. troop withdrawal in December, may provide a useful model for winding down operations in Afghanistan.”

“President Barack Obama attends the National Prayer Breakfast this morning in Washington, along with the first lady and Vice President Joe Biden,” the AP writes.

President Obama today met with Jordan's King Abdullah II, and both leaders reaffirmed their calls for Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad to step down. 

Speaking after their meeting Mr. Obama said, “We will continue to consult very closely with Jordan to create the kind of international pressure and environment that encourages the current Syrian regime to step aside, so that a more democratic process of transition can take place inside of Syria.”  

The president also praised King Abdullah for being “the first Arab leader to publicly call on President Assad to step down in the face of terrible brutality.”

Also Tuesday, senior White House officials announced there are strong signs that Iran is supplying weapons to Syria. According to National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor, a recent visit by a ranking official within Iran’s elite Quds force, Commander Ghassem Soleimani, provides evidence of high-level cooperation between the countries.

In a statement Vietor said, “Assad is running out of money to continue financing his crackdown and has turned to Syria's only ally left -- Iran -- for help, as evidenced by IRGC-Quds Force Commander Soleimani's recent visit to Damascus.” 

The White House has long believed that Iran was aiding Syria in the crackdown on its own citizens.

The United Nations estimates as many as 5,000 people have been killed since mass protests began in Syria last March. The United States and several other countries have called on Assad to step down, but so far he has shown no signs of heeding their calls. 
Tensions are also mounting between the United States and Iran after the U.S. imposed stiffer sanctions and after Iran threatened to close down the Strait of Hormuz, which is used to transport about a fifth of the world’s oil.

President Obama said that he and King Abdullah discussed Iran, but did not go into any detail nor did he answer questions about Iran shouted by reporters.

The New York Times: “The escalating American confrontation with Iran poses a major new political threat to President Obama as he heads into his campaign for re-election, presenting him with choices that could harm either the economic recovery or his image as a firm leader. Sanctions against Iran’s oil exports that the president signed into law on New Year’s Eve started a fateful clock ticking. In late June, when the campaign is in full swing, Mr. Obama will have to decide whether to take action against countries, including some staunch allies, if they continue to buy Iranian oil through its central bank.”

Obama will once against deliver his acceptance speech outside, the Charlotte Observer reports: “Convention officials are expected to announce the venue this morning at a news conference at the stadium. … The move to the Carolina Panthers' 74,000-seat stadium would replicate the 2008 convention, where Obama accepted the nomination at a packed Invesco Field in Denver.” The speech would be open “to the public,” and “is designed to help mobilize voters in North Carolina, a key swing state. Two Democratic sources, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the information, said the stadium move is just one change that will be announced this morning.”

“It’s Obama-time at the Apollo,” the New York Post writes. “Obama will be serenaded by Al Green and India.Arie, along with Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda, during a fund-raising concert Thursday night at the landmark Harlem theater. Tickets run from $100 to $5,000. It’s the second time Obama has held a campaign event at the Apollo. The previous event took place on Nov. 29, 2007, as he battled Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Film director Spike Lee will host a separate fund-raiser for Obama’s re-election bid, at his Upper East Side brownstone. Tickets are $38,500 per person. A third fund-raising event, hosted by leaders in the Jewish community, will be held at Daniel restaurant.”

Senior U.S. officials say they are deeply concerned by reports of the seizure of smuggled radioactive material heading into Tehran and commend the Russian security services for seizing the material.

That said, an early read by U.S. intelligence is that the main purpose of this isotope, Sodium-22, is for medical diagnostics. It's used for radiation therapy -- and officials say the materials can be bought legally, so it does not have implications for suspected weapons development.

"We don't know whether the receipient was a government agency," one agency said. "It's unclear why they would want to smuggle it in; we are still investigating, but it does not appear that this involves Iran's nuclear program."

The U.S. Navy today announced the largest government purchase of "drop-in" biofuel, a green energy replacement for diesel fuel in ships and jets that will be used during a major naval exercise next summer in the Pacific.

Navy Secretary Ray Maybus says the $12 million purchase of 450,000 gallons of biofuel will power aircraft and ships deployed for the Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC), the world's largest maritime exercise held every two years.

It's all part of a "Green Fleet" demonstration, he says, to prove the viability of a 50-50 blend of biofuels and diesel as "a very viable concept."

Maybus says the Navy's goal is to use a similar biofuel blend to deploy and power a carrier strike group on a multi-month deployment by 2016. 

Maybus made today's announcement on a conference call with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack as part of the administration's push to greater utilize biofuel technology in military and commercial transportation.

This biofuel purchase by the Defense Logistics Agency, however, is only a drop in the bucket for the U.S. Navy, which uses more than 1.26 billion gallons of fuel each year.

But both Maybus and Vilsack argue it's an important step in making the nation more energy independent.

"The use of fossil fuels is a real threat to national security, and the Navy's ability to protect the nation," Maybus said.

Maybus and Vilsack also touted the jobs created in the farming and biofuel industry as the U.S. government increases its reliance on green fuel technology.

According to Maybus, the department did not have to ask for additional money for the project, since the funds came from the normal course of business of Navy research and development.

Vice President Joe Biden today made a surprise visit to Baghdad, Iraq -- in advance of the full American troop withdrawal that is expected to happen next month. This is Biden’s eighth trip to Iraq since becoming vice president. 

According to the White House, while in Iraq, Biden will speak at “an event to commemorate the sacrifices and accomplishments of U.S. and Iraqi troops."

He will also meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani, Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, and other political leaders as well as co-chair a meeting of the U.S.-Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee.

Last month President Obama confirmed that the United States would remove all troops from Iraq by the end of the year, keeping with a bilateral agreement that was signed by President George W. Bush before he left office.