In a rare public criticism, former President George W. Bush is reported to have come down hard on his successor Barack Obama’s Middle East polices, notably in respect of Iran and the militant Islamic State (ISIS). Citing leaked proceedings of a closed-door session with donors at a Republican Jewish Coalition meeting at las Vegas over the weekend, Bloomberg View reported that Bush was critical of Obama over the Iran nuclear deal, faulting him for misreading Tehran’s intentions and showing a willingness to relax sanctions too easily.
Bush, who had so far observed almost total public silence on his successor’s policies, commented that the deal being pursued with Iran would be bad for American national security in the long term. “You think the Middle East is chaotic nowIJ Imagine what it looks like for our grandchildren. That’s how Americans should view the deal,” Bloomberg View columnist Josh Rogin quoted Bush as saying as per an attendee’s transcription of the former President’s remarks at the event on Saturday night.
Bush, whose younger brother Jeb is widely expected to enter the 2016 presidential race, was said to be even more critical of Obama in respect of dealing with the ISIS challenge and the chaos in Iraq. “In order to be an effective president ....when you say something you have to mean it,” Bush was quoted as saying in respect of Obama’s pledge to degrade and destroy ISIS, adding: “You gotta kill ‘em.”
Defending his own administration’s handling of terrorism, Bush said 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’s throat is in Gitmo, and now they’re doing it on TV,” Bush reportedly remarked, in an obvious reference to the recent ISIS beheadings of western hostages that were posted online.