Jeb attacks Hillary for enabling ISIS
Former Florida Jeb Bush plans to blast former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the chaotic aftermath of the U.S. pull-out from Iraq, which he says has helped the Islamic State grow. Bush is giving a speech on foreign policy Tuesday night at the Reagan Presidential Library in California
Republican Jeb Bush will use a foreign-policy speech in California Tuesday to make the case that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bears some of the blame for the rise of the Islamic State, arguing she "stood by" as Iraq collapsed amid U.S. withdrawal.
Bush, former governor of Florida, is scheduled to speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
"ISIS grew while the United States disengaged from the Middle East and ignored the threat," Bush will say, according to excerpts of prepared remarks released by his campaign.
"And where was Secretary of State Clinton in all of this? Like the president himself, she had opposed the surge…then joined in claiming credit for its success … then stood by as that hard-won victory by American and allied forces was thrown away."
Hillary Clinotn only visited Iraq once, Bush says.
Bush has been attempting to set himself apart from his GOP rivals by taking on Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner for president. In recent weeks, he has hit her over tax policy, education and the controversy over the private email system she used at State. (On the other hand, Bush was slow to respond when Clinton smacked him on women's health issues last week.)
Going on the attack relative to Iraq's endgame also provides a way for Bush to move beyond the political drag of the war's beginning. He has stumbled over attempts to articulate his view of his brother's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003.
"It was a case of blind haste to get out, and to call the tragic consequences somebody else's problem," Bush says in the excerpts. "Rushing away from danger can be every bit as unwise as rushing into danger, and the costs have been grievous."
He also will blast the Obama administration for the shrinking size of the military following the withdrawal and the draw-down in Afghanistan, as well as the pressure of automatic spending cuts under budget agreements with the GOP Congress.
"We are in the seventh year of a significant dismantling of our own military, in almost inverse proportion to the threats that are multiplying," Bush plans to say. "And I assure you: The day that I become president will be the day that we turn this around and begin rebuilding the armed forces of the United States."