George W. Bush Bashes Obama on Middle East

[gilliam]

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.

One attendee at the Republican Jewish Coalition session, held at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas with owner Sheldon Adelson in attendance, transcribed large portions of Bush’s remarks. The former president, who rarely ever criticizes Obama in public, at first remarked that the idea of re-entering the political arena was something he didn’t want to do. He then proceeded to explain why Obama, in his view, was placing the U.S. in “retreat” around the world. He also said Obama was misreading Iran’s intentions while relaxing sanctions on Tehran too easily.

According to the attendee’s transcription, Bush noted that Iran has a new president, Hassan Rouhani. “He’s smooth," Bush said. "And you’ve got to ask yourself, is there a new policy or did they just change the spokesman?”

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 said he views the rise of the Islamic State as al-Qaeda’s "second act” and that they may have changed the name but that murdering innocents is still the favored tactic. He defended his own administration’s handling of terrorism, noting that the terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who confessed to killing Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was captured on his watch: “Just remember the guy who slit Danny Pearl’s throat is in Gitmo, and now they’re doing it on TV.”

bloombergview.com/articles/2015-04-27/george-w-bush-bashes-obama-on-middle-east

 

[Crossbones]

Oh my, I guess he has to try to get some “Jewish Donors” for Jeb. That whole piece come as a stark reminder of what a terrible president he was. Please, please Republicans, tell him to go away and not ever say anything in public again if you want to win in 2016.

 

[phil_at_dayboro]

Is young George really in a position to lecture ?

 

[Nelka]

 

[Neofight]

As a common citizen, and ex-President, he is entitled to run his mouth as much as the rest of us…and on the upside, as a private citizen he can’t screw anything up more than the rest of us! Somehow we’re all better off with Boy George being out of work!

 

[Ridgerunner]

George W. Bush’s performance as president left much to be desired in a number of ways. But on this subject, he’s exactly correct. Virtually every military and intelligence leader, including Obama’s own former CIA chief, agree with Bush on this.

 

[mary_bobo]

Some of these posts seek to kill the messenger. Why not open your mind to what the former president had to say instead of criticizing?

 

[ucfengr]

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.

One attendee at the Republican Jewish Coalition session, held at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas with owner Sheldon Adelson in attendance, transcribed large portions of Bush’s remarks. The former president, who rarely ever criticizes Obama in public, at first remarked that the idea of re-entering the political arena was something he didn’t want to do. He then proceeded to explain why Obama, in his view, was placing the U.S. in “retreat” around the world. He also said Obama was misreading Iran’s intentions while relaxing sanctions on Tehran too easily.

According to the attendee’s transcription, Bush noted that Iran has a new president, Hassan Rouhani. “He’s smooth," Bush said. "And you’ve got to ask yourself, is there a new policy or did they just change the spokesman?”

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 said he views the rise of the Islamic State as al-Qaeda’s "second act” and that they may have changed the name but that murdering innocents is still the favored tactic. He defended his own administration’s handling of terrorism, noting that the terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who confessed to killing Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was captured on his watch: “Just remember the guy who slit Danny Pearl’s throat is in Gitmo, and now they’re doing it on TV.”

bloombergview.com/articles/2015-04-27/george-w-bush-bashes-obama-on-middle-east

How can comments in a “closed door meeting” in any meaningful was be described as “public criticisms”?

 

[Darryl1958]

The reason why the criticism are all going to be against George Bush and nothing about the points that George Bush makes, is because everybody knows that George Bush is giving the correct assessment of Obama’s ME ruinous policy failure.

 

[stinkcat_14]

George W. Bush’s performance as president left much to be desired in a number of ways. But on this subject, he’s exactly correct. Virtually every military and intelligence leader, including Obama’s own former CIA chief, agree with Bush on this.

I agree, just because Bush was a bad president in many ways, i.e. he went to war and passed the bill off on future generations and expanded our welfare state, that in and of itself does not make Obama a good president.

 

[grotto]

That was fast! It took only one minute for the hate Bush rhetoric to begin the tag team.

I offer the following: President George W. Bush has earned his legacy as one of the greatest American Presidents AND the last true Commander in Chief until 2016 brings another leader to the U.S.:clapping::clapping:

He broke his resolve to not comment on a sitting Pres performance because he loves the United States and is acutely aware of the dangerous conditions that have been allowed to develop under this Administrations leaderless conduct.

Christians are under attack and we need to speak out and defend all good people.

 

[stinkcat_14]

That was fast! It took only one minute for the hate Bush rhetoric to begin the tag team.

Who has the hate Bush rhetoric? Why is Bush immune from criticism?

I offer the following: President George W. Bush has earned his legacy as one of the greatest American Presidents AND the last true Commander in Chief until 2016 brings another leader to the U.S.:clapping::clapping:

You are entitled to your opinion. Why should you have the only right to express an opinion about Bush?

He broke his resolve to not comment on a sitting Pres performance because he loves the United States and is acutely aware of the dangerous conditions that have been allowed to develop under this Administrations leaderless conduct.

So why is ok to criticize Obama but not Bush? Why the double standard?

Christians are under attack and we need to speak out and defend all good people.

If we find a good person to defend, we should defend them.

 

[qui_est_ce]

Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton never had a problem publicly criticizing GWB while he was president. Bush has largely kept his mouth shut. He made a criticism of our current government’s policy in a private meeting. Why don’t we refute point by point the observations Bush made in the speech, rather than rehashing his presidency or attacking him personally?

With what, precisely, do you disagree?

 

[Crossbones]

Some of these posts seek to kill the messenger. Why not open your mind to what the former president had to say instead of criticizing?

It’s funny how those on the right expect that their leaders can screw up everything and then complain that we don’t listen to those leaders with an open mind.

 

[Neofight]

I wonder as a private citizen if Bush was speaking for himself, or like in the old days had Cheney telling him what to say?

 

[Beryllos]

What would you expect Bush to say at a Jewish fundraiser?

 

[Crossbones]

With what, precisely, do you disagree?

Bush signed an agreement to have US troops out of Iraq in a certain timeframe and then complain when President Obama didn’t break that agreement and actually got troops out of Iraq.

That he changed strategies in 2007 after the previous strategy wasn’t working for 4 years and then complains that this president isn’t changing strategies fast enough in more complex situation.

That we’re supposed to imagine what a mess the Middle East is supposed to be in the future and that’s somehow Obama’s fault when the single action that instigated the massive change was starting the unjust Iraq War.

That he really offers no suggestions on what he thinks should go on in the Middle East except kill them.

 

[Crossbones]

What would you expect Bush to say at a Jewish fundraiser?

From the Bloomburg poll in the other thread:

Republicans by a ratio of more than 2-to-1 say the U.S. should support Israel even when its stances diverge with American interests, a new Bloomberg Politics poll finds. Democrats, by roughly the same ratio, say the opposite is true and that the U.S. must pursue its own interests over Israel’s.

 

[stinkcat_14]

Bush signed an agreement to have US troops out of Iraq in a certain timeframe and then complain when President Obama didn’t break that agreement and actually got troops out of Iraq.

That he changed strategies in 2007 after the previous strategy wasn’t working for 4 years and then complains that this president isn’t changing strategies fast enough in more complex situation.

That we’re supposed to imagine what a mess the Middle East is supposed to be in the future and that’s somehow Obama’s fault when the single action that instigated the massive change was starting the unjust Iraq War.

That he really offers no suggestions on what he thinks should go on in the Middle East except kill them.

When it comes to the middle east, it is always going to be easier to criticize someone else than to offer an effective solution. The only lasting effect from both Bush and Obama’s middle east policies is that future generations will be stuck with the bill.

 

[Path_Finder]

US policy definitely wrong in asking Mubarak to step down, that brought in the Muslim Brotherhood. I’m not going to dwell on errors, I do believe his analysis is correct. Also looks like we are wrong about Iran.