Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush outlined a specific plan Tuesday night to fight ISIS where it stands. Addressing an all-friendly audience at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, the GOP presidential candidate said his plan would put more than 3,500 American troops in Iraq, but would include no major commitment of combat forces.
He also used the speaking opportunity to blast President Obama and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton for their actions, or lack of them, in Iraq, and characterizing Obama-Clinton foreign policy as "grandiose talk and little action."
"Who can seriously argue that America and our friends are safer today than in 2009, when the president and Secretary Clinton, the storied 'team of rivals,' took office?"
The speech, said Bush's campaign team, was their man's first major foreign policy speech since announcing his presidential run.
Fundraisers who bundled $27,000 or more for the campaign got into the event for free.
The location for the speech, with its obvious symbols, had been carefully planned. The stage at the Reagan Presidential Library includes the presidential seal on the podium and four American flags in the background. Bush made a point to invoke Reagan's name at every opportunity and thank Nancy Reagan "for this honor and let her know that many, many Americans love her very much."
CBS News reported that Bush specified "he would have America forward air controllers on the ground to help Iraqi forces spot targets for American fighter aircraft and Apache helicopters" and under Bush's plan "U.S. troops would not just act as trainers but embed with Iraqi units."
In addition, he said he wants the United States to re-engage with Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish factions "to restart diplomatic efforts to unify the country."
"If I am commander in chief," he said, "the United States will make certain that the Kurds have everything they need to win."
Bush acknowledged that intelligence and military mistakes were made during his brother's command of the Iraq war. But he credited the 2007 surge with turning the tide and alleged that Hillary Clinton "stood by" as the situation deteriorated in Iraq, and a "hard-won victory" by American and allied forces was "thrown away."
Bush told the audience, "So eager to be the history-makers, they failed to be the peacemakers. It was a case of blind haste to get out, and to call the tragic consequences somebody else's problem."
He also called for the rejection of the Iran nuclear deal, calling it “unwise to the extreme, with a regime that is untrustworthy in the extreme.”
Clinton was interviewed on Univision after the Bush speech to give her reaction. She called it a "desperate move" motivated in part because "his campaign seems to be stalled," and said it was George W. Bush, not Obama, who signed an agreement saying the U.S. would withdraw troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.
Bush is scheduled to be in Las Vegas for a town hall meeting tonight. On Thursday his plan is to speak on national security at a forum sponsored by Americans for Peace, Prosperity, and Security in Davenport, Iowa.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
