Pawlenty to GOP: Don’t Turn Isolationist

Republicans are starting to split among those who want us to withdraw from the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya quickly, and those who feel we should stay the course. Count presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty among the latter, Politico reports.

“I don’t like the drift of the Republican Party toward what appears to be a retreat or a move more towards isolationism,” the former Minnesota governor told the news service.

Pawlenty is concerned that President Barack Obama will bring troops home too quickly, and he said Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney hasn’t made his views clear on the issue.

“I don’t know how to interpret his comments during the [recent New Hampshire] debate,” Pawlenty said. “He walked them back post-debate in a couple of publications, so I’m not sure where he landed finally on that.”