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Suddenly, Mitt Romney and the Republicans are attacking President Obama on an election issue on which the incumbent looked to be almost untouchable 鈥� foreign policy.聽Can it work?

The events of Sept. 11 in Benghazi, Libya 鈥� the firebombing of the US consulate that resulted in the deaths of four American diplomats including the ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens 鈥� have provided an opening to question Mr. Obama鈥檚 handling of an international crisis, and in particular, of American security overseas, foreign policy experts say.

Yet Republicans face their own pitfalls in zeroing in on the previously barren soil of foreign policy.

One is that many independent voters, in particular, have an aversion to the kind of muscular rhetoric about how the US should act in the world that Mr. Romney and a number of his surrogates have used in their broadsides at Obama, says Aaron David Miller, a foreign policy specialist with long experience in both Republican and Democratic administrations.

鈥淭here are vulnerabilities [for Obama], for sure, that flow from the latest series of events. The questions that are resonating are about competency and whether there was too much nonchalance 鈥� about the security of our diplomats and our diplomatic missions,鈥� says Mr. Miller, now a Middle East expert at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.

Calling this new vulnerability on foreign policy 鈥渁 clear shift in focus鈥� on an issue where Obama seemed previously almost unassailable, Miller says, 鈥淒oes it limit the president? Yes. But can it cost him the election? No.鈥�

Until the Benghazi attack, Obama was considered to have greatly improved Democrats' standing with the public on issues of national security. He pledged to get Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and he did, he ordered many more drone attacks on militants in Pakistan than President George W. Bush did, and perhaps most important, a number of potentially devastating attacks on the US were foiled.

When asked at a press conference last December about Republican attacks on his firmness with America鈥檚 adversaries, Obama answered, 鈥淎sk Osama bin Laden and the 22-out-of-30 top Al Qaeda leaders who鈥檝e been taken off the field whether I engage in appeasement.鈥�

But Benghazi casts doubts on the president鈥檚 preparedness for the uncertainties resulting from upheaval in the Middle East, says Miller. Moreover, he adds, the administration has a 鈥渕essaging problem鈥� in that there was a 鈥渃lear effort at painting these events 鈥� in a way to make the administration鈥檚 response look more favorable.鈥�

But to compare the Benghazi attack to the Iran hostage crisis and the 1980 election is an exaggeration, Miller says. As for former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) characterizing the administration鈥檚 changing account of Benghazi 鈥� from a spontaneous mob flare-up to a terrorist attack 鈥� as聽鈥淥bama鈥檚 Watergate,鈥澛燤iller says, 鈥淥h, please.鈥�

A new Washington Post poll shows Romney leading now among independents on whom they most trust on the broad issue of 鈥渋nternational affairs.鈥� (The poll suggests that the same independents still prefer Obama on handling terrorism and an international crisis.)

That suggests Romney can capitalize on the issue of Obama鈥檚 鈥渃ompetence鈥� as raised by the Benghazi attack 鈥� but not, Miller says, if the Republican challenger continues to go from there to attacking Obama as weak on Iran or saying he 鈥渓acks resolve鈥� in the Middle East in a way that suggests Romney would steer the US into another war.

鈥淥nly two issues move voters in the area of foreign policy, and those are one, security, and two, prosperity,鈥� Miller says. To the extent that a war with Iran could trigger skyrocketing gasoline prices, he says, and as long as there are no terrorist attacks on American soil, 鈥渋t鈥檚 going to be hard for Romney to move the dial with his talk of a tougher approach鈥� to the world.