Jeb Bush: ‘Taking Out Saddam Hussein Turned Out To Be A Pretty Good Deal’

[DonViejo]

Source: TPM

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) said on Thursday during a campaign stop in Iowa that "taking out Saddam Hussein turned out to be a pretty good deal," according to multiple reports.

From the Wall Street Journal's Reid Epstein:

Reid J. Epstein ✔
@reidepstein

Jeb: "I'll tell you, taking out Saddam Hussein turned out to be a pretty good deal."

3:24 PM - 13 Aug 2015
50 50 Retweets 22 22 favorites

The quote was also reported on by The Daily Beast. Bush was speaking at a forum sponsored by Americans for Peace, Prosperity and Security at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, according to the website.

The Beast reported that Bush went on to say he didn't want to hypothesize about what would have happened if his brother, former President George W. Bush, had not ordered the invasion of Iraq, which led to the toppling of Hussein.

"Then that's back to the future and you could make a movie," Jeb Bush said, according to the Beast.

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jeb-bush-saddam-hussein-good-deal

[Roy Rolling]

1. "A good deal?"

Yep, for only 4,400 dead soldiers Halliburton was able to make $39 billion.

[Punx]

13. +4400

Not to mention the dead Iraqis. 10's of thousands at least.

[Monk06]

24. And only 133,000 dead Iraqi civilians or roughly 30 times the number do US soldiers killed.

Not including the Iraqis and Kurds now being killed daily by ISIS

Yep pretty good deal if you're a rich American whose kids will never be in harms way.

[Martin Eden]

47. The deal was sweetened with tax cuts for the profiteers

So, from the perspective of the Bushes & Cheneys, this was a pretty darn good deal.

[arcane1]

2. How much did this "good deal" cost again? Even in mere dollars...

What an idiot.

[left-of-center2012]

3. As I recall

Bush/Cheney said it would bring democracies to Iraq, Iran, Syria, etc.
What could possibly go wrong?

[Angry Dragon]

4. Bush caused a big vacumm and the rest of the Middle-East started to follow

[TwilightGardener]

5. For who...the 4000 American soldiers who died for nothing? The countless maimed and psychologically

wounded who still suffer? Jeb! needs to burn in hell with the rest of his godawful family.

[Gothmog]

6. Jeb's attempt to rewrite history will fail

[Dont call me Shirley]

7. For who jebbie? The dead Iraqis and their families? The maimed Iraqis? The dead soldiers?

The maimed soldiers and their families?

WTF, jeb? You are a freak!

[Shrike47]

8. Jeb, you're an ass and an idiot. Don't you think we can remember what really happened?

[valerief]

9. The pigs always get rich-rich-rich off WAR. nt

[Kelvin Mace]

10. Really?

A trillion dollars plus and counting, at least a half million dead Iraqis and the enmity of the Muslim world was "a good deal"?

[starroute]

11. A million dead Iraqis -- what a bargain!

Cheap at twice the price!

[cstanleytech]

12. See folks, this is what happens when someone doesnt get enough oxygen to their brain. nt

[AngryAmish]

14. Taking out Saddam has not meant a damn thing

Listen, you dope, there is no such thing as Iraq. There will never be such a thing as Iraq. There will be some dude who pretends to lead the country, while raising up his family, then tribe, then allied tribes, then coreligionists, then try to put whoever does not fit those interested circles down or dead.

We. Never. Learn.

[calimary]

27. Taking out Saddam meant removing the cork from the VERY well-shaken Iran bottle.

Saddam Hussein contained Iran. He kept them busy and occupied and fighting him and his minions, so they were not able to make much mischief toward Israel or anywhere else. Now, that containment is LONG GONE. And look where we are.

I'm amazed at what an idiot jeb is - but I guess it's more important to stand by his brain-dead dry-drunk brother, and burnish and defend that bastard's legacy. We WILL be back at war if he or ANY of the testosterone-obsessed GOPers get into the White House. How many more American kids do you want to order back over there to get their legs blown off, jebbie? HOW MANY will be enough, THIS time?

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

15. 4,400+ US troops dead, no WMDs, trillions wasted, 100s of thousands of civilians killed

the region destabilized, ISIS on the rise

Yeah, Jeb, that worked out great - it was all flowers, puppy dogs and "greeted as liberators!"

[tblue37]

19. But all sorts of Republican cronies made out like bandits! nt

[Thinkingabout]

16. Earlier he was blaming Hillary for the Islamic State wbich started i a prison provided by W and now

He is saying taking out Saddam was a good deal. Is Jeb a Dick Cheney puppet?

[Maeve]

17. For whom? Him? Cheney? Halliburton?????eom

[tblue37]

18. "Whadda maroon!" </Bugs Bunny>.

[redstateblues]

20. Trump is right about one thing

Jeb! Is a total loser

[Thor_MN]

21. His mother thought Katrina turned out very well for the people stranded at at the stadium

I bet if we checked, we would see that they Bush boys inherited the Dumbass gene from both parents.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

22. The Bushes got plenty of oil and contracts

[restorefreedom]

23. oh Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

jeb, will you do the country a favor and please

GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!

[TBF]

25. "For whom?" is the response to that statement -

I'm sure it was very profitable for government contractors and oil companies.

[davidpdx]

34. Nice picture

I've never seen that one before.

[TBF]

42. I don't know which companies the Bush family

hold stock in - but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a bunch in their portfolios. We have minor investments that we inherited so I have some idea how this works now. They've been wealthy a long time and I'm sure have extensive holdings managed by a professional team.

It's all about the money (and power) for these people.

[wordpix]

49. Jeb should see this but he might need a tutor to interpret it

Charts and maps can confuse some students

[TBF]

51. Right?

And he probably doesn't even know what stock he owns. The 1% are clueless about a lot of things.

[PoliticAverse]

26. Worked out well indeed for those in position to profit from it. n/t

[HFRN]

28. spoken like someone who didn't die or be maimed in it

but instead, had their buddies make a fortune in it

[dhill926]

29. Fuck 'im…

[candelista]

30. He's gotta stop saying s**t like this if he wants to get elected.

He doesn't need to defend his brother. He should distance himself from Dubya as much as possible. I read someplace that he was planning to do that. But he let himself down on this one. Jeb is supposed to be smarter than Dubya. Anyway, that's what Poppy thinks. Jeb was Poppy's pick to be President, not Dubya. But judging from this article and from appearances I've seen on TV, Jeb is a dim bulb, too. And very nervous and unsure of himself. Recently he has floated the idea of sending more troops to Iraq. So maybe he wants to finish the job that Dubya failed to finish for Poppy. Talking about Iraq, trying to justify it, speculating about finishing the job there will not resonate with the American people. He should keep his mouth shut about the whole topic if he wants to win.

Disclaimer: I do not support any Republican for office. Just critiquing.

[Judi Lynn]

31. What kind of demon decided it's O.K. to call murder "taking out?"

Taking out:

[center] [/center]
Murder:

[center][/center]

[candelista]

45. +1. nt

[geek tragedy]

32. The kind of "better deal" he wants for Iran. nt

[Devil Child]

33. It was a great deal

The fall of Saddam was a great deal for profiteering war criminals, Sunni extremism, and Iran.

Thanks Bush, they couldn't have done it without you.

[davidpdx]

35. He's going to lose the race if he defends his brother

It's not a position that even Republican primary voters will agree with him on. Not after how badly W. botched the war, a war that shouldn't have even happened in the first place.

The question then becomes, when Trump crashes and burns (which he will) who will be the front runner? I know a lot of people are saying Walker and that scares the hell out of me.

[ericson00]

36. Poor Jeb. He can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.

now I'm starting to think Jeb would be easier to beat than Donald Trump.

[Coventina]

46. LOL! Good one!

[riversedge]

37. Jeb Bush backs brother, blames Obama and Clinton

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/08/13/jeb-bush-summer-sizzle-gop-event-foreign-policy-isis/31681017/

Jeb Bush backs brother, blames Obama and Clinton

Jason Noble, [e-mail] 11:51 p.m. CDT August 13, 2015


Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, speaks during the Polk County GOP Annual Summer Sizzle at Dennis Albaugh's Classic Car Barn in Ankeny Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register


(Photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register)
CONNECT 9 TWEETLINKEDINCOMMENTEMAILMORE

Ankeny, Ia. –In a pair of Iowa events Thursday, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush defended his brother's foreign policy legacy and cast blame on President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for ongoing chaos in the Middle East.

Bush, a former governor of Florida, spoke first at a security forum in Davenport in the afternoon and then at an evening fundraiser for the Polk County GOP.

In Davenport, Bush spoke at length on the Middle East and the legacy of the war in Iraq initiated by his brother, President George W. Bush.

While he acknowledged that his brother's record on prosecuting the war and its aftermath wasn't perfect, he assigned blame for the deterioration of the region and the rise of the Islamic State instead on Obama, who took office in 2009.

[wordpix]

50. he has to do that, his handlers told him so- not an original idea from this guy

he is a total puppet, even to his bro's legacy. Maroon

[Little Tich]

38. Most Iraqis would of course disagree... n/t

[Marrah_G]

39. Good deal for who?

[smiley]

40. for halliburton maybe...

[Vinca]

41. Clueless. Totally clueless.

Someone needs to propose a law that if an invasion of anything is planned in the future, a Bush must be first in line to serve.

[Javaman]

43. sure, for his corporate oil backers. nt

[ericson00]

44. I'm even more convinced that this guy doesn't want it

and that he just ran to shut up the shouting voices saying "Jeb, run!" Kind of like Fred Thompson.

I also am thinking Trump would be much harder to beat than Jeb.

[One_Life_To_Give]

48. Used to cost us a couple Cruise Missiles to get raq to do what we wanted

Now we just threaten to go home.

[Person 2713]

52. Halliburton. Xche , MIC SAYS a real good deal yes

[niyad]

53. yes, he is indeed implying that it was his brother's insane decision to go to war that brought

down hussein.