From Justin Raimondo, who suggests the Republicans are trying to throw the 2016 election to Hillary Clinton, at antiwar.com:
You could hear the air in the inflated balloon of Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign leak out rather noisily as he made his debut foreign policy speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
As Dana Milbank ruthlessly pointed out in the Washington Post, the speech “combined his father’s awkward oratory with his brother’s mangled syntax and malapropisms” – not to mention the aura of a factually challenged foreign policy stumblebum. In what Juan Cole speculates may have been a “Freudian slip,” he said Iraq when he meant Iran: and in describing the Islamic State, Jeb claimed they have 200,000 fighters when the number is a bit closer to 20,000. His people later claimed he “misspoke,” but threat inflation is a distinctly Republican habit that seems inherent in the species – so who knows what he really thinks?
By the time he was through, you could see the relief on Jeb’s face as he manspreaded in his chair and took questions from the audience, at one point confessing his amateurism: “Look, the more I get into this stuff, there are some things [where] you just go, you know, ‘Holy schnikes.’ ”
The voters may well have a similar reaction to his candidacy, if this speech is any indication.
American power projected abroad, Jeb averred, “is a force for good.” The people of Iraq may contest this, but, hey, they aren’t voting in the next presidential election, now are they? It’s good, he says, because it’s “grounded in principle” – so what is the principle involved? Here it is:
“American leadership projected consistently and grounded in principle has been a benefit to the world. In the post-World War Two era, the United States has helped hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, secured liberty for an equal number, and has been a force for peace and security.
“Only our exceptional country can make that claim. This has happened because our presidents, both Republican and Democrats, have accepted the responsibilities of American power in the world with the belief that we are a force for good.
Let’s pass over the claim that US foreign policy has been a “force for peace and security,” and just let today’s headlines out of Iraq and the Middle East speak for themselves. What’s interesting is the assertion that America’s “responsibility” is to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty when our own country is going bankrupt in the process. I’m sure both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would agree with that – but what about Republican primary voters?
Back to the drawing board, Jeb!
Having no voice or views of his own when it comes to foreign policy, Jeb does his best Bibi Netanyahu imitation, launching into a lengthy condemnation of the Obama administration’s efforts to prevent World War III in the Middle East. Iran, he avers, has attacked US “troops directly” – without offering any specifics. When? Where? How? He doesn’t say. But who needs facts when you’re channeling the Israeli Prime Minister?
“Today, four world capitals are now heavily influenced by Iran and its proxies, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Saana. Iran’s ambitions are clear in its capabilities are growing. For many years they have been developing long range missile capabilities in their own nuclear weapon program. And during those years America has opposed those efforts.”
Ah yes, Baghdad – once a gleaming capital bereft of terrorists, lorded over by a former US ally, now a pile of rubble due to the deadly antics of brother George. If Jeb is going to mourn Baghdad’s fate then he’ll have to start a family feud, and that wouldn’t be very presidential, now would it? As for Beirut – the Bush II administration, like the would-be Bush III administration, stood by and cheered as the Israelis bombed the crap out of Lebanon. Is it any wonder the Lebanese seek what protection they can get from Tehran? On to Damascus – where the regime helped us track al Qaeda terrorists and in our gratitude we launched a campaign to unseat them. We withdrew our Ambassador, and snubbed theirs. Is it any wonder they’re turning to Tehran? As for Saana: what does this dolt even know about Yemen? If he’s so concerned about Saana, why not let those best friends of the Bush family, the Saudis, do something about it? Or are the weapons we sell them only for show?
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2015/02/19/holy-schnikes-its-jeb-bush/
To continue reading: ‘Holy Schnikes,’ It’s Jeb Bush!
