White House Hits Back at Bush: Qaeda Wasn’t in Iraq prior to 2003 Invasion

Wednesday 29 April 2015

White House Hits Back at Bush: Qaeda Wasn’t in Iraq prior to 2003 Invasion

The White House has brushed off former President George W. Bush's recent criticisms of the President Brack Obama’s foreign policy, saying that al-Qaeda-linked militants were not in Iraq before the 2003 invasion of the country by Bush.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest

"I do think that we've made the case aggressively before, and I think that's backed up by extensive evidence, that there are links between al Qaeda ... and ISIL. And the fact is al Qaeda was not in Iraq prior to President Bush's decision to commit significant American military resources on the ground in that country,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday.

During a closed-door gathering of Jewish donors over the weekend, Bush said Obama withdrew American troops from Iraq too quickly in 2011 and paved the way for ISIL. He also urged Obama not to remove sanctions imposed against Iran over the country’s nuclear program following a possible final agreement.

“In order to be an effective president… when you say something, you have to mean it,” Bush said at the Republican Jewish Coalition event in Las Vegas.

Earnest also tweaked Bush by suggesting Obama was elected primarily as a result of the American public rebuking the Bush administration's foreign policy decisions.

"The fact that President Bush has a different perspective and a different philosophy when it comes to foreign policy, isn't just a well-known difference [between them]," he added. "In the minds of many people, it's the principle reason that President Obama is sitting in the Oval Office right now.


Source: Agencies	28-04-2015 - 12:02 Last updated 28-04-2015 - 12:02 \|

Bush Slams Obama over Iran N. Deal: It’s Not Wise to Lift Sanctions

Former US president George W. Bush said the administration of President Brack Obama should not lift sanctions imposed against Iran following a possible final deal on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

The ex-president sharply criticized Obama’s foreign policy in a closed-door meeting with hundreds of Jewish donors in Las Vegas on Saturday night, the New York Times reported.

Former US president George W. Bush

Bush also expressed “skepticism about the Obama administration’s pursuit of a nuclear deal with Iran,” according to the Times.

He suggested that it was not wise to lift sanctions against Iran and said that Washington “risked losing leverage if it did so.”

Bush warned that a possible nuclear deal would be bad for American national security in the long term.

The US and its negotiating partners reached a framework nuclear agreement with Iran in Switzerland on April 2.

Tehran and the P5+1 group – the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany – are currently working to draw up a final accord by the end of June.

Among the key points of nuclear negotiations is the lifting of all sanctions once a final deal is reached on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities.

The Obama administration says the sanctions could be phased out. However, the Iranian government stresses that all sanctions have to be lifted as soon as a possible final deal comes into force.