Jeb seeks to ease concerns over Bush family ties
A frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, Bush said he would back a global strategy against Islamic State that “takes them out”.
But he offered no specifics on how to do this and avoided military threats that could reawaken memories of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq launched by his older brother, former president George W Bush, over weapons of mass destruction that were never found.
Speaking at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the former Florida governor struck a balance between respecting the service of his father, former president George H W Bush, and brother, while suggesting he would make decisions based on circumstances neither of them had to face.
“I’m my own man, and my views are shaped by my own thinking and my own experiences,” Bush said.
In a speech and question-and-answer session, Bush demonstrated a fluency in international issues that none of his potential rivals for the Republican nomination has matched to date.
A list of Bush foreign policy advisers suggested he is trying to split the difference between party hawks and pragmatists. Many of his advisers were big players in the administrations of the last three Republican presidents — the two Bushes and Ronald Reagan.
Bush largely stuck to standard Republican criticisms of the policies of President Barack Obama even while using similar language to the Democratic president. In September, Obama cited a relentless US effort “to take out” Islamic State militants wherever they exist.
Bush questioned the concessions that Obama may be ready to make to secure a nuclear deal with Iran, criticised Obama’s diplomatic opening to Cuba, and said Obama is “feckless” for not providing defensive equipment to Ukraine.
He said he looked forward to a speech in Congress by Benjamin Netanyahu and expressed surprise that the White House was opposed to the visit from a key ally.
His stances appeared aimed at boosting his credibility with conservatives who are more likely to vote during the Republican primary battles while not scaring moderates with talk of sending troops abroad.
Peter Feaver, a Duke University professor who was a White House adviser under George W Bush, said Jeb Bush’s views were in line with the Republican mainstream and also many Democrats who have criticised the Obama administration.
