Of course I would have given order to kill bin Laden: Romney

"Of course," Romney told reporters when asked whether he would have ordered killing of the most dreaded terrorist of the world in Pakistan. "Even Jimmy Carter would have given that order," 65-year- old Romney said at a campaign event in New Hampshire campaign. Former president Carter is criticised by Republicans as a weak leader during his White House tenure.u00a0

He approved a failed military mission in 1980 to rescue US hostages in Iran. He also was a vocal opponent of the 2003 Iraq war. Romney's remarks after President Barack Obama's campaign released an ad that notes that during his first presidential run, he said in an April 2007 interview that "it's not worth moving heaven and earth, spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person."

"I assume that people meant what they said when they said it. That's been at least my practice. I said that I'd go after bin Laden if we had a clear shot at him, and I did. If there are others who have said one thing and now suggest they'd do something else, then I'd go ahead and let them explain it," Obama said at a White House news conference.

Romney's spokeswoman Andrea Saul alleged Obama was indulging in politics. In a statement, she said Obama was using the anniversary of bin Laden's death as "a cheap political ploy" that she said distorted Romney's policies on fighting terrorism. "While the Obama administration has naively stated that 'the war on terror is over,' Gov. Romney has always understood we need a comprehensive plan to deal with the myriad threats America faces," Saul said.u00a0