Politics | Mitt Romney Romney, White House Spar Over Iraq Decision GOP candidate calls lack of new deal an 'astonishing failure' By Dustin Lushing Posted Oct 21, 2011 5:05 PM CDT Copied Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., speaks at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) See 1 more photo Republican presidential contenders are railing against President Obama over his decision to bring home all American troops in Iraq by January 1, reports CBS News. Mitt Romney: "President Obama's astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition in Iraq has unnecessarily put at risk the victories that were won through the blood and sacrifice of thousands of American men and women. The unavoidable question is whether this decision is the result of a naked political calculation or simply sheer ineptitude in negotiations with the Iraqi government." White House response: "Mitt Romney didn't lay out a plan to end the war in Iraq in his foreign policy agenda—he barely even mentioned Iraq—but he is apparently willing to leave American troops there without identifying a new mission." Rick Perry: "Obama is putting political expediency ahead of sound military and security judgment by announcing an end to troop level negotiations and a withdrawal from Iraq by year's end." Michele Bachmann: She condemned the move as "a political decision and not a military one," adding that Iraq should repay the US "the full cost of liberating them given their rich oil revenues." Jon Huntsman: He said it's a "mistake" not to leave "a small, focused" military presence in Iraq, calling the country "vulnerable to backsliding." Read These Next One wrong step costs teen at Yellowstone. An arrest has been made in the Devil's Den murders. Suspect in killing of hikers was arrested during a haircut. A Virginia politician was set on fire at his office. See 1 more photo Report an error