TEMPE — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Thursday he would not have invaded Iraq, as his brother did more than a decade ago, had he been president at the time instead of his brother and known then what he knows now.
Speaking to a business group here, Bush conceded that he stumbled in recent interviews when he was asked the hypothetical question, saying at one point he would have gone to war and at another that he was not sure. Bush, who is weighing a formal presidential bid, clearly wants to put the issue behind him.
"I would not have engaged, I would not have gone into Iraq,'' he said flatly.
But Bush was careful to also say that does not mean the war was not worthwhile, saying the world is "significantly safer'' because Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was ousted. And he said the troop surge has created greater stability in the country.
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"And that's not to say that the men and women that have served in uniform, and many others that went to Iraq to serve, they did so honorably,'' Bush said.
So what took so long to get a straight answer?
"The reason why I was reluctant to say what I'm going to say now is that, as governor of Florida, I easily called over 100 family members who lost a loved one in service to our great country,'' Bush explained.
He said that's not an easy thing to do that many times.
"And it's very hard for me to say that their lives were lost in vain,'' Bush continued. "In fact, they weren't.''
He said the families that lost loved ones have gone through a lot.
"Their sacrifice is worth honoring, not depreciating,'' Bush said.
After his speech, Bush was asked about his ability to disagree on policy issues with his brother George, and yet still be loyal to him.
"I don't go out of my way to disagree with my brother,'' he said. "I am loyal to him.''
But he said that, as it relates to the Iraq war, "I hope it was clear where I stood.''
And he said that whatever the decisions his brother made, he said that in 2008, at the end of George's second term, Iraq was stable.
"It was fragile, but it was stable,'' he said.
"It was because of the heroic efforts of a lot of people,'' Bush explained. "And relitigating this, and going through hypotheticals, I think does no good for them.''
Or potentially for his own campaign.
"I don't think it's necessary to go through every place where I disagree with him,'' Bush said.
