"Jeb" Bush and the Iraq Triple Blunder

(Photo: Tony Gutierrez, Associated Press- Jeb Bush)

     Monday (5/11/15) on FOX News' show "The Kelly File", host Megyn Kelly asked    presumed 2016 Republican Presidential candidate "Jeb" Bush if given the information that is currently available, would he still have authorized the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

   "Jeb" answered unequivocally on Monday that yes, he would.  He then tried to paint Hillary Clinton and others into the same corner he had just backed himself into, inferring that anyone would have also invaded with the same intelligence that was available at that time. [1]

     Naturally, this answer drew a range of skepticism from various sources from both sides of the isle. Both elected officials and media personalities questioned the level of negative impact this answer would have on Mr. Bush's 2016 potential candidacy. [2]

     Seeking to perform some damage control, "Jeb" made an appearance on Sean Hannity's radio show on Tuesday (5/12/15). In attempt to help "Jeb" amend his answer, Hannity asked the same question Megyn Kelly did regarding hindsight.  Rather than help his cause, "Jeb" dug himself even deeper. [3]

     Mr. Bush said, "I don't know what that decision would have been." and that "mistakes were made" due to "faulty intelligence". Something he also made mention of on Megyn Kelly's program. 

     This is a common misdirection used to gloss over the reality that has become clear as time has passed.  The evidence used to justify the Iraq invasion wasn't just faulty, it was falsified. It was, in fact, a goal of the Bush Administration prior to election in 2000 to find justification to invade Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power. [4]

     While speaking in Nevada on Wednesday 5/17, "Jeb" took a third stab at the Iraq invasion question, his initial answer to which had started to become a potential boat anchor on his presumed 2016 Presidential campaign.  Both an attempt to discredit the validity of and actually answer to the original question, Bush stated he felt that the hypothetical question "... does a disservice for a lot of people that sacrificed a lot." and that ".. we ought to be focusing on is what are the lessons learned."

     As it turns out, that's a very good point. Just not in the way that Mr. Bush probably intended. Given that the evidence that took us to Iraq was assembled from whole cloth by his brother George W Bush's administration to justify the invasion they had planned from the start [4], "Jeb" showing concern regarding a  presumed disservice to the sacrifices of the troops involved comes across as painfully tone deaf. Had G.W. Bush not lied, those Americans who were killed in the line of duty would not have been there in the first place.

     Mr. Bush continued on to say "Of course, given the power of looking back and having that, of course anybody would have made different decisions. There's no denying that. But to delve into that and not focus on the future is, I think, where I need to draw the line.."  The trouble with that is that "Jeb" is trying to set the narrative direction on this issue rather than the media doing so.  Something that is unfortunately not surprising given the state of corporate media.

     To Mr. Bush, asking someone with aspirations to the Presidency to admit the Iraq War was a colossal mistake is where the disservice to the people that lost their lives is quite the insult. The reality is that not asking this question would be a failure of any worthwhile journalist.  Of course the corporate media has, by and large, deemed Mr. Bush's third answer acceptable, given Mr. Bush a pass and moved on.  However, there is no reason to do so.  This incident should remain a reason to consider "Jeb" as unqualified for the Presidency.

     Mr. Bush's potential competitors for the 2016 Republican nomination have thankfully not dropped the issue.  While there are certainly numerous concerns with Rafael "Ted" Cruz, Jr. and Rand Paul's Presidential (and political) qualifications, they are absolutely correct to keep taking "Jeb" to task for his answer(s) regarding the Iraq War [5].  Hopefully this will remain an issue in the Republican Presidential debates and through the completion of the 2016 general election.

[1] "The Kelly File" trademark & copyright 2015 FOX News, NEWSCorp. 
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/05/10/exclusive-jeb-bush-says-hillary-clinton-would-have-backed-iraq-invasion/

[2] CNN article "Jeb Bush tries to move past Iraq questions" & video detailing multiple responses to Mr. Bush's answers, TM & Copyright 2015 Turner Broadcasting
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/12/politics/jeb-bush-iraq-election-2016-foreign-policy/

[3] The Sean Hannity Show from May 12th, 2015 TM & Copyright 2015 Sean Hannity / Hannity.com
http://www.hannity.com/articles/shows-472046/radio-show-recap-may-12th-13585654

[4] Lie by Lie: A Timeline of How We Got Into Iraq by Johnathan Stein & Tim Dickinson, TM & Copyright 2006-2011 MotherJones & The Foundation for National Progress.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/12/leadup-iraq-war-timeline

[5] AP Big Story - Bush struggles to clarify stance on wisdom of invading Iraq by Julie Pace & Steve Peoples May 12th, 2015 TM & Copyright 2015 Associated Press
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3dcf0d6a33174f7f874baa2a9b5a2b1d/iraq-war-still-casts-shadow-over-gop-white-house-hopefuls