BOSTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says President Barack Obama has "misunderstood" American values in his policies toward other countries. The Republican nominee is planning a major foreign policy speech in the coming weeks.

Romney on Sunday wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal outlining a foreign policy critique he first made at campaign events following an attack in Libya that killed the U.S. ambassador. Romney is accusing the Obama administration of minimizing the seriousness of that attack and the other threats facing the U.S. in the region.

Romney writes, quote, "our values have been misapplied — and misunderstood" by Obama. He also says Obama has distanced the U.S. from Israel.

The Republican nominee was spending Sunday preparing for his first debate with Obama, set for Wednesday in Denver.