GOP Rep.: If Bush Knew Obama Would Be Prez, He Would Have Re-Thought Iraq War

UNITED STATES - MAY 19: Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, leaves the House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on Tuesday, May 19, 2015. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
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Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on Tuesday said that former President George W. Bush (R) may have gone about the Iraq invasion differently if he had known he would be succeeded in the White House by President Obama.

“Everybody else wants to ask that question about, ‘Gee, would you have gone into Iraq, you know, knowing what you know now?’ And I think if President Bush had known that he would have a total incompetent follow him — that would not even be able to negotiate a Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq, that would start helping our enemies and just totally put the Middle East in chaos — then he would have to think twice about doing anything if he had known he would have such a total incompetent leader take over after him. That should be the question,” Gohmert said in an interview with radio host John Fredericks, according to an audio clip highlighted by Right Wing Watch.

Jeb Bush struggled last week when asked whether he would have authorized the Iraq invasion given what he knows know. Initially, Bush said he would have gone into Iraq, but he quickly backtracked and said he misheard the question. He eventually said that he “would not have gone into Iraq.”

Bush’s stumble prompted numerous presidential hopefuls to weigh in on the Iraq War. Many said they would not have authorized the invasion, while others, like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) used the opportunity to blame the current situation in Iraq on Obama.

During his interview on Tuesday, Gohmert also said that he does not believe that Obama needs another Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) from Congress to keep fighting the Islamic State.

“I don’t trust this administration, I don’t want to give them any additional authority that Bush didn’t have. The President has taken far more authority than the constitution gives him,” Gohmert said, adding that the AUMF from 2001 gives Obama “all the power he needs.”

Gohmert said that discussion of a new AUMF is a “red herring” to distract from Obama’s “failed leadership.”

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