Fact check on debate claims

A look at how debate claims by President Obama and Mitt Romney match up to the facts:

The claim: Did Mitt Romney really say "Let Detroit go bankrupt"?

The facts: Romney did not write that headline, but he did argue in a New York Times op-ed article that General Motors and Chrysler should go through a managed bankruptcy. But while those companies did ultimately file for bankruptcy, his claim ignores key facts about the automakers' stability at the time. Detroit was so fragile that without the government assistance it received before heading into a court-supervised bankruptcy process, it could have collapsed.

The claim: President Obama said he called Israel "our greatest ally in the region."

The facts: This is a change from his appearance on "60 Minutes" last month in which he described Israel as "one of our closest allies in the region." That was a characterization that Romney aides quickly attacked, arguing that it showed a lack of support and loyalty to Israel. But by mentioning twice Monday night that Israel is the closest friend of the United States in the region, Obama seems to be going out of his way to avoid describing Israel the way he did last month.

The claim: Romney said Obama went on a foreign "apology tour."

The facts: News organizations have repeatedly found the claim that Obama has apologized for American values and principles to be inaccurate. While the president has admitted U.S. failings at times -- and, like President George W. Bush, has apologized for specific acts of American wrongdoing abroad -- he has never explicitly apologized for American values or principles.

And Romney repeated that the U.S. naval fleet is at its lowest number since 1917.

The facts: While true that the United States spends more on defense than the next 10 nations combined, the president's contention that U.S. defense spending has increased in each year of his administration is a half-truth. While true that through this year, the base budget for the Department of Defense has increased, overall defense spending -- which includes overseas contingency operations funding -- has decreased.

Romney's claim about the U.S. Navy is false. The actual low, according to a Navy website, came in 2007.

The claim: Romney blasted Obama for failing to take "a leading role" in organizing the Syrian political opposition and uniting the "disparate" rebel factions under a single opposition banner.

And Obama said he was confident that (Bashar) "Assad's days are numbered."

As for Obama's assertion, there's no evidence to support that Assad will fall soon, a line that the administration has repeated for several months.