It’s interesting that he would come out now to criticize Obama. One wonders what finally set him off, or if this is political posturing for his brother.
In a closed-door meeting with Jewish Donors Saturday night, former President George W. Bush delivered his harshest public criticisms to date against his successor on foreign policy, saying that President Barack Obama is being naïve about Iran and the pending nuclear deal and losing the war against the Islamic State.
After reportedly expressing his distaste for re-entering the political fray, Bush started blasting Obama on Iran:
Bush said that Obama’s plan to lift sanctions on Iran with a promise that they could snap back in place at any time was not plausible. He also said the deal would be bad for American national security in the long term: “You think the Middle East is chaotic now? Imagine what it looks like for our grandchildren. That’s how Americans should view the deal.”
Bush then went into a detailed criticism of Obama’s policies in fighting the Islamic State and dealing with the chaos in Iraq. On Obama’s decision to withdraw all U.S. troops in Iraq at the end of 2011, he quoted Senator Lindsey Graham calling it a “strategic blunder.” Bush signed an agreement with the Iraqi government to withdraw those troops, but the idea had been to negotiate a new status of forces agreement to keep U.S. forces there past 2011. The Obama administration tried and failed to negotiate such an agreement.
Bush went on to call the rise of ISIS, al Qaeda’s “second act” and chided Obama for not coming up with an effective strategy to deal with them.
He also hit Obama’s sore spot – his complete lack of credibility at home and abroad.
“In order to be an effective president … when you say something you have to mean it,” he said. “You gotta kill em.”
Read the whole thing at Bloomberg. Josh Rogin doesn’t resist the temptation to throw in a little gratuitous dig at President Bush at the end, but other than that, it is a good piece.
MORE:
Via Instapundit;
ON TWITTER, A BUNCH OF LEFTIES ARE BLAMING BUSH FOR DESTABILIZING THE MIDDLE EAST, WHICH PROBABLY MEANS BATTLESPACE PREP FOR STILL MORE TERRIBLE NEWS.
It also means they read Josh Rogin’s article and are howling in fury. Hahahahahaha. Good.
But, but, but Bushhh….(essentially Rogin’s weak, closing dig.)
So remember, as late as 2010, the Obama Administration was bragging about how stable and successful Iraq was. And, of course, when Bush left office Syria, Yemen, Libya, Egypt were all stable. But they’ll blame Bush as long as they can get away with it, because it’s better than admitting that Obama has been an absolute disaster in foreign policy.
But, you know, the problem for them is that Obama has been an absolute disaster in foreign policy.
Nice Deb 