Biden: Romney 'Implies By His Speech' That He's Ready for War in Syria, Iran

Vice President Joe Biden warned a crowd in York, Pa. Sunday that Republican rival Mitt Romney is "ready to go to war in Syria and Iran," offering scant evidence to support the claim.

Biden was on the campaign trail to promote President Obama's economic policies among "white, working-class voters," according to the Associated Press, when he made the statement.  The thrust of Biden's pitch has been that America is digging out from the 2008 economic collapse, and that Romney would take the country backward.

But Biden, described by the AP as "a foreign policy heavyweight," also cautioned voters that Romney could adopt policies that favor confrontation over cooperation.

"[Romney] said it was a mistake to end the war in Iraq and bring all of our warriors home," Biden remarked. "He said it was a mistake to set an end date for our warriors in Afghanistan and bring them home.  He implies by the speech that he's ready to go to war in Syria and Iran."

Romney has said he would consider military action in Syria if the war-torn country's chemical weapons were at risk of falling into the wrong hands, but Obama has made similar remarks.  The president called it a "red line" for the U.S. if Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime were to use chemical or biological weapons.

Obama and Romney have also both said the U.S. must keep all options on the table, including a military strike, when dealing with Iran.  But Romney has suggested that Obama has been too soft on Iran and - without offering specifics himself - said he would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"And these guys say the president is out of touch?" Biden said to the crowd.

But Biden's remarks, in an audience of about 1,400 in a high school gymnasium, focused primarily on the economy.

"This is no time to turn back. We have to continue to move forward," he said. "Folks, I am absolutely certain - there's not a single doubt in my mind - that we are on the way to rebuilding this country stronger than it was before."

Biden also took time to imply that Republicans don't care about the middle class, saying: "Oh, I love these guys, how they claim to care about the deficit..."

He continued: "Ladies and gentlemen, the thing I most love about them is about how they discovered the middle class at their convention. Isn't that amazing? All of a sudden their heart was bleeding for the middle class."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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