Jim Rosica
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush repeated his call for a declaration of war against the Islamic State, criticizing President Barack Obama for viewing the conflict with the jihadist group as a policing “exercise.”
Bush appeared Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program via satellite from Miami.
“If this is a war, which I believe it is, then we need to act accordingly,” Bush said. “This president does not believe it’s a war. He believes it’s a law enforcement exercise.
“All of the policy memos that he’s put in place and the intelligence restraints are making it harder for us to be successful in destroying ISIS (referring to Islamic State),” he said. “If that is the objective, then we should declare war on ISIS. We’re not.”
The president addressed the nation from the Oval Office Sunday night – only the third time he has done so during his two-term presidency – to reassure Americans that the war on terrorism was well in hand after the most recent shooting attack by a radicalized Muslim husband and wife in San Bernardino, California, that claimed 14 lives.
Bush and the other GOP contenders were quick to seize on Obama’s failings, however, in dealing with the crisis.
When asked what what he would have done differently, Bush said, “I would have used this opportunity, this speech, to be able to persuade people that we’re at war with Islamic radical terrorism and that, as such, we need to have a strategy.”
“He needed to persuade people that our fears will subside when we are engaged actively in the destruction of ISIS,” he said. “And from there you would have a strategy that would be much more comprehensive,” mentioning no-fly and safe zones in Syria.
“Aggressively training the local forces, which he talked about but not with the intensity that’s necessary, directly arming the Kurdish forces in Iraq is another element of this,” Bush said. “Re-engaging with the Sunni tribal leaders. There is a renewed effort in that regard, but it’s not with the intensity that’s necessary.
“I think we ought to have our military forces directly embedded with the Iraqi military to help train there,” he said. “We need to engage diplomatically and politically across the board. But without a military plan, we’re not going to get to the objective, which is to take out ISIS and restore stability to a region that desperately needs it.”
Bush added, “This argument that somehow you’re either for this president’s nuanced view of how to fight Islamic terrorism or you’re an occupier is ridiculous.”
The video can be viewed here: http://on.msnbc.com/1jJSkj8
