CHICAGO — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday said “there were mistakes made in Iraq” during his brother’s administration, offering the critique during a wide-ranging speech on foreign policy that comes as part of his run-up to a likely presidential campaign.
Speaking to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Bush said intelligence about Saddam Hussein’s possession of weapons of mass destruction was not accurate, and the U.S. initially failed to create an environment of security in Iraq. But Bush praised former President George W. Bush’s decision to “surge” troops into Iraq in 2007.
Bush offered harsh words for Obama’s foreign policy during the speech, calling his administration “inconsistent and indecisive.”
He acknowledged that his views about America’s place in the world will be compared with those of his brother and his father, former President George H.W. Bush.
“But I am my own man — and my views are shaped by my own thinking and own experiences,” he said. “Each president learns from those who came before — their principles, their adjustments.”
