Jeb Gets Four Pinnochios on ISIS, Takes on More Water Over W

Jeb Bush is taking on still more water as he struggles to avoid his brother’s disastrous political legacy. First, the Washington Post Fact Checker awarded Jeb four Pinocchios for his botched attempt to pass the blame on his brother’s mess in Iraq:

Bush seems to have fallen prey to Washington conventional wisdom, in which ISIS suddenly emerged into consciousness in the past year or so. That may be fine for armchair analysts or journalists. But that’s little excuse for a presidential candidate, who might have to grapple with this problem if he or she is elected president.
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Instead, Bush flatly stated as fact that ISIS did not exist when his brother was president — and that al-Qaeda in Iraq was wiped out when Obama took office. Both statements are false and worthy of Four Pinocchios.

And don’t take it from us or the Washington Post: Republican Senator Rand Paul says that the hawks in his own party are the ones to blame:

“I would say it’s exactly the opposite. ISIS exists and grew stronger because of the hawks in our party who gave arms indiscriminately, and most of those arms were snatched up by ISIS,” said Paul. “These hawks also wanted to bomb Assad, which would have made ISIS’s job even easier. They created these people.”

#2016

Published: May 27, 2015