Politifact rating: Half True
Says Mitt Romney’s comments indicated he would not have pursued Osama bin Laden.

The Obama campaign is right that Romney used those words, but by cherry-picking them, it glosses over comments describing his broader approach. Romney said he wanted to pursue all of al-Qaida, not just its leaders.

The reporter quoting him in April 2007 said he instead “endorsed a broader strategy to defeat the Islamic jihad movement.” And he said just over a week later that he would “get Osama bin Laden and track him wherever he has to go, and make sure he pays for the outrage he exacted upon America … he is going to pay, and he will die.”

Still, Romney was clear later that summer that he would prefer to participate with allies rather than take unilateral action to kill terrorists as Obama supported — and later did. The ad takes Romney’s words out of context, but gets part of the story right. We rate it Half True.