Jeb Bush said Sunday he was not in favor of “carpet-bombing ISIS,” as proposed by Bush’s Republican presidential rival Ted Cruz.
Bush was asked by “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos on the Islamic State, “Would you go as far as Ted Cruz: carpet-bombing?”
“No,” Bush replied. “We need to have a strategy. Carpet-bombing’s not a strategy.”
“We need to train the Iraqi military. We need to garner support again with the Sunni tribal leaders,” Bush elaborated.
Cruz stated Saturday that he will “carpet- bomb them into oblivion” if elected president.
“I don’t know if sand can glow in the dark, but we’re going to find out,” Cruz said at the Freedom Works conference in Iowa Saturday.
Bush then took a shot at Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who appeared on “This Week” just before him.
“I found it interesting that Secretary Clinton was talking about re-engaging with the Sunni tribal leaders. The [Iraq War] surge, which she opposed, was a great success that created a fragile stability in Iraq.”
“When the Obama administration left Iraq, she only went there once,” Bush noted. “The void was filled by ISIS.”
Bush then circled back about how his plan was distinct from Cruz’s carpet-bombing proposal, and the current course charted by President Obama.
“We have to create a full strategy, directly arming the Kurds, which this administration refuses to do,” Bush said.
