There’s a trend going around in the media that is attempting to trip up GOP candidates with hypothetical questions about the Iraq War. The media have asked candidates Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio about whether or not the Iraq War was a mistake, asking “Knowing what we know now,” in a blatant attempt to trap them into saying something that could be harmful to their image.
Former Governor of New Hampshire, John Sununu, stands up for the candidates saying that they were “Absolutely right,” and turns the questions against the media narrative saying, “When you ask the question ‘knowing what we know now’ nobody knows what you mean. Does that include knowing that the bulk of Saddam Hussein’s Sarin Gas went to Syria where Assad is using it? Does that mean that we know that Obama was going to fail to get ‘Status of Forces’ agreements and pull our forces out and create chaos in Iraq that sets the tone for why that question is being asked?”
He reprimands the journalists involved, saying, “It’s an easy question for a journalist to ask. It’s a dumb question for a journalist to ask.” He then commends the candidates and says firmly that both Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush were “right.”
The interview continues to say that the media should be more concerned with what candidates intend to do now, rather than question how the current situation could have been avoided. What purpose do such questions serve and just how relevant are they to the 2016 Presidential Race?