George W. Bush Blasts Obama’s ‘Strategic Blunder’ in Iraq, Says He’d be Popular if He ‘Owned NBC News’
Former President Bush’s no-criticism media policy against his successor has been lauded by media figures and politicians on both sides of the political aisle — but behind close doors, he apparently doesn’t possess as much deference.
Bloomberg reports that during a closed-door speech addressing Jewish Republican donors at a Las Vegas hotel over the weekend, Bush slammed Obama on Iran, Isis and Iraq.
The former president criticized Obama’s negotiations with Iran, saying it’s not realistic to lift sanctions, and then if Iran acts badly, to just put them back into effect. Bush panned the Iran deal as bad for America’s future.
“You think the Middle East is chaotic now? Imagine what it looks like for our grandchildren. That’s how Americans should view the deal,” he said.
Bush then delved into the area of Iraq, which his legacy is obviously most tied to for the decade America spent at war in Iraq. Quoting Senator Lindsey Graham, Bush called Obama’s decision to withdraw troops from Iraq at the end of 2011 a “strategic blunder.”
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He also took on Obama’s handling of ISIS, claiming the president has talked the talk on depleting and defeating the terrorist group, but has no strategy to do so.
Bush also took a jab at the media, citing the fact that Russian President is so popular because he controls the country’s media: “Hell, I’d be popular, too, if I owned NBC news,” he said.
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Political media will surely jump on Bush’s comments against Obama Monday, as the industry has been deprived of any type of conflict story between the two men throughout Obama’s seven years as president.
To date, Bush had made clear his unwavering principle that it’s bad for the presidency for one president to openly criticize a sitting president. His vice president, Dick Cheney, however, has openly criticized President Obama and his cabinet officials since the early days of his presidency.
The post George W. Bush Blasts Obama’s ‘Strategic Blunder’ in Iraq, Says He’d be Popular if He ‘Owned NBC News’ appeared first on TheWrap.
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