Jeb Bush: ‘I Do Rely On’ My Brother George When It Comes to Foreign Policy

Monica Sanchez | May 12, 2015
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In an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, potential 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush said that his brother, former U.S. President George W. Bush, is one of his top advisors when it comes to foreign policy.

“I love my brother and I respect his service,” Bush said. “In terms of living presidents and someone who has lived this and breathed it, the fight against terror… I do rely on him, and I respect his advice.”

The former Florida governor noted, “He’s not the only person who advises me. One of the fun things about the journey I’m on is I get to call people up I really respect and admire, and believe it or not, they’re answering my calls.”

“Of course I’m going to ask my brother his advice,” Bush conceded.

“Am I the same as my brother? Of course not. I’m not.”

He explained that he differs with his brother on the principles which U.S. foreign policy should be grounded in:

“I don’t think, for example, our foreign policy ought to be grounded in … just the export of our own values or nation building," Bush said. "Those are good sentiments. But first and foremost, in security and peace. And I think what we’ve seen under this President is, as we’ve pulled back, we’re creating an incredibly insecure world.”

When asked whether he would have made the call to invade Iraq if he were in his brother’s shoes over a decade ago, Bush told Kelly,

“I would’ve, and so would’ve Hillary Clinton, just to remind everybody.”

“In retrospect, the intelligence that everybody saw—that the world saw, not just the United States—was faulty,” he said. “Once we invaded and took out Sadam Hussein, we didn’t focus on security first. And the Iraqis, in this incredibly insecure environment, turned on the United States military because there was no security for themselves and their families.”

“By the way,” he added, “guess who thinks those mistakes took place as well:

“George W. Bush.”

“It’s important to remind ourselves of lessons learned going forward,” Bush said.

Check out Jeb Bush’s remarks on The Kelly File below. 

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