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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGeorge W. Bush unironically warns of Middle East ‘chaos’
Posted with permission.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/george-w-bush-unironically-warns-middle-east-chaos?cid=sm_fb_maddow
George W. Bush unironically warns of Middle East chaos
04/27/15 11:29 AMUpdated 04/27/15 11:31 AM
By Steve Benen
As a rule, all policy proposals should be evaluated on the merits. Its not enough to simply say, It must be a good idea if so-and-so thinks its a bad idea such a tack is intellectually lazy, unserious, and best avoided.
There are exceptions to the rule.
Former President George W. Bush said the United States must show that it can follow through on its promises, and argued against the lifting of sanctions against Iran during rare remarks about foreign policy in a meeting with hundreds of Jewish donors {in Las Vegas} Saturday night.
Mr. Bush told the 700 donors attending a closed-door Republican Jewish Coalition spring meeting that he would not criticize President Obama, whose aim to degrade and ultimately destroy the Islamic State he applauded. But the former president nevertheless offered comments that many in the audience viewed as a tacit critique of his successor.
Mr. Bush told the 700 donors attending a closed-door Republican Jewish Coalition spring meeting that he would not criticize President Obama, whose aim to degrade and ultimately destroy the Islamic State he applauded. But the former president nevertheless offered comments that many in the audience viewed as a tacit critique of his successor.
As best as I can tell, there is no video or transcript available of the former presidents remarks, so were relying on attendees accounts of what Bush said. Word-for-word quotes should probably be taken with a grain of salt.
With that caveat in mind, the Republican reportedly said the international framework on Irans nuclear policy would be a bad long-term proposition: You think the Middle East is chaotic now? Imagine what it looks like for our grandchildren. Thats how Americans should view the deal.
Left unsaid: if theres one person who knows all about Middle East chaos, its George W. Bush.
The former president also reportedly told his audience, Pulling out of Iraq was a strategic blunder.
Look, theres probably little point in rehashing the scope and scale of George W. Bushs catastrophic failures. The record is unambiguous; his misjudgments are the stuff of legend.
But so long as the former president is dipping his toes back into the public debate, lets keep a few pertinent details in mind:
1. Presidents who launch two massive wars that destabilized the entire Middle East probably shouldnt warn about his successor making the region chaotic.
2. When U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq, it was under the terms of a Status of Forces Agreement negotiated by George W. Bush.
3. Bush may not like the idea of a nuclear agreement with Iran, but President Obama is now making up for the fact that Bush could have struck a better deal but failed to even try, and Irans nuclear capabilities grew far more serious without consequence on Bushs watch.
2. When U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq, it was under the terms of a Status of Forces Agreement negotiated by George W. Bush.
3. Bush may not like the idea of a nuclear agreement with Iran, but President Obama is now making up for the fact that Bush could have struck a better deal but failed to even try, and Irans nuclear capabilities grew far more serious without consequence on Bushs watch.
All things considered, maybe Bush should head back to the painting studio for a while longer, hoping Americans will have more time to forget the enormity of the mess he left for his successor to clean up.
As for the broader political dynamic, part of me wonders whether Bush has inadvertently done Obama a favor as Congress considers U.S. policy towards Iran in more detail, Americans agree with the White House, while George W. Bush and Dick Cheney disagree. I can think of worse messages for the president to push as the debate continues.
All of this, of course, comes against the backdrop of the 2016 presidential campaign, where Bushs brother is considered a leading candidate. The former president recently acknowledged the fact that hes a problem for Jeb Bush, but that apparently wont stop George W. Bush from occasionally making things worse.
Postscript: Josh Rogins report on Saturdays event added, For George W. Bush, the remarks in Vegas revealed that he takes little responsibility for the policies that he put in place that contributed to the current state of affairs.
Alas, some things never change.
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George W. Bush unironically warns of Middle East ‘chaos’ (Original Post)
babylonsister
Apr 2015
OP
AZ Progressive
(3,411 posts)1. What kind of authority does Bush have to make a speech?
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)2. It was for contracts for defense contractors which is a license to steal basically
It isn't like they didn't see it coming
Exxon Mobile & others have contracts have contracts all over Iraq, who says it was a blunder? Bush? He'd rather you think they're incompetent rather than authoritarian imperialists pushing heavily into this. All the marketed reasons weren't grounded in reality, there were human rights issues but it is a double standard when the House of Saud needs a regime change but also a withdrawal as soon as it is done -- no appointing the new members of parliament or write them a constitution & especially a show trial. They hurt whether claim this was about democracy or human rights, especially when the first judge quit because of the pressures of being patient & respectful of Saddam Hussein but it wasn't a bias issue considering they tried him in Kurdistan & the Judge was Kurdish. Bias against him but they aren't even going to admit the real reasons.
More on Halliburton & KBR who have been human trafficking for over a decade.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCcQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uclalawreview.org%2Fpdf%2F62-1-3.pdf&ei=tF4-Ve_iMpGooQTr9IHYBQ&usg=AFQjCNH9X4UV_h0SQ-x0MT1Igu7lGSJmOg&bvm=bv.91665533,d.cGU