US President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney clashed over national security and key foreign policy issues in the third and final presidential debate.
The Florida debate saw rivals tangling over the Arab Spring, Iran, China’s rise and more in a 90-minute war of words.
President Obama was the aggressor from the start of the encounter which provided both the candidates a last chance to appeal to millions of voters in what appears to be a neck-and-neck race to the White House.
On the broader concept of the US foreign policy during the debate, both Obama and Romney agreed that the US should not allow Iran to go nuclear, would support Israel in case of attack, the 2014 withdrawal time line from Afghanistan, and the need to take stronger action against China.
Both the rivals also sparred on the issue of tackling terror.
Responding to a question, Romney argued that despite a strained relationship with Islamabad, the United States can’t afford to “divorce” itself with Pakistan, which is a nation of more than a 100 nuclear weapons.