Memo to Jeb Bush: It was W’s SURGE that created ISIL not Hillary By Juan Cole

[kpete]

Memo to Jeb Bush: It was W’s Surge that created ISIL, not Hillary

.....when Abu Omar al-Baghdadi changed al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia into the Islamic State of Iraq he found many willing recruits, and the organization grew in strength and influence.

Because, Jeb, of the Surge. Not to mention the US invasion and occupation in the first place, and the backing of al-Maliki.

By Juan Cole | Aug. 12, 2015 |

.................

One of the arguments Mr. Bush made was that while his brother, George W. Bush, didn’t get everything right, he did have a brilliant moment with the 2007 troop escalation or “surge,” which put the world right. Then that horrible Obama crew, including Mrs. Cinton, came along and screwed things up by withdrawing from Iraq in 2011.

First of all, saying that W. didn’t get everything right in Iraq is like saying that Custer didn’t get everything right at the Little Bighorn. Bush’s Iraq misadventure was the biggest foreign policy screw-up in American history. Didn’t get everything right, indeed.

Second, Jeb Bush’s narrative about the “surge” is mythical history unconnected to reality.
See my Engaging the Muslim World
https://books.google.com/books?id=GPBmXHgWWU4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Engaging+the+Muslim+World&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAGoVChMIwuywgoijxwIVSEGSCh1lMgss#v=onepage&q=Engaging%20the%20Muslim%20World&f=false


In brief, here is what happened:
http://www.juancole.com/2015/08/surge-created-hillary.html

[HassleCat]

1. Jeb's albatross

Jeb has a difficult task. He has to appear loyal to his brother without coming right out and admitting Iraq was a mistake. This is the best he's done so far, but it will not fly. The public views the entire Iraq disaster as a continuous disaster, not a disaster punctuated by occasional success.

[RiverNoord]

8. He's doing what the Republicans have been doing for years.

Making assertions based on no logic whatsoever that the problems they are directly responsible are actually the fault of their opponents, and inferring that they can resolve these problems.

It works - their voters don't care about the lack of logic, they base their voting decisions on long-standing needs to stick with their party, and the absurd claims just give them emotional cover to feel comfortable with and vindicated by their choice.

The absurdity of the Iraq claims is that the removal of forces date was worked out by the Bush administration and the Iraqi government, and President Obama was bound to respect the date. Only a request by the government of Iraq, properly authorized by its legislature, could have changed that. Never mind that the entire thing was the result of the astoundingly awful decision to invade Iraq...

[robertpaulsen]

2. K & R!

[hifiguy]

3. But a lie gets around the world twice

before the truth can wake up and put its pants on as Mark Twain said.

And this lie will be repeated by the megaton.

The only fortunate thing is that the name Bush is a guarantee of lies for a lot of people.

[gratuitous]

4. Yeah, and . . .

The popular media don't remember a goddam thing past some celebrity's last hairstyle. Jeb! can go out and mischaracterize (or to put it more colloquially, "lie&quot to his heart's content, secure in the knowledge that the popular media will give his remarks straight reporting without ever betraying a trace of doubt as to its veracity. When someone like Cole comes out and says that Jeb! is lying, the media react like a dog watching a card trick.

[hifiguy]

5. "A dog watching a card trick" is a perfect analogy

for the 100% corporate M$M.

[gratuitous]

6. Unfortunately, I don't remember where I swiped it from

It's not original to me, but it applies very well in this context. A friend once told me, "If you're going to steal, steal from the best."

[hifiguy]

7. Always!

As Igor Stravinsky once said "Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal."

And Stravinsky actually said that: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/i/igor_stravinsky.html

[JohnnyRingo]

9. Jeb etal are claiming Obama pulled out after Bush had it won.

They literally use the word "victory" to describe the situation when Obama took office. Because of the pending election, that blame is now being slightly deflected to Ms Clinton.

If we can't leave after the war is well won, when is it ever possible? Of course if asked they'd likely say never, but that's the paradox. As long as troops remain and take casualties, the war continues unabated.

The truth is that Bush never did "win" any war. If anything is ever named after GWB it should be a veteran cemetery.

[MyOwnPeace]

12. Perhaps the most truth

....stated about the past administration in quite some time - how sad.

"The truth is that Bush never did "win" any war. If anything is ever named after GWB it should be a veteran cemetery."

[AtomicKitten]

10. Hillary blamed Obama for the rise of ISIS.

http://www.salon.com/2014/08/10/illary_clinton_blames_rise_of_isis_on_obama_%E2%80%9Cfailure%E2%80%9D_to_intervene_in_syria_civil_war/

[left-of-center2012]

11. Expecting Darth Vader

Dick Cheney will probably weigh in on this.
He may also blame Obama/Clinton for the fall of Saigon, the Bay of Pigs disaster, and Napoleon's loss at Waterloo.