...President George W. Bush offered rare, and broad-ranging, remarks Saturday night about current national security threats and the 2016 presidential campaign to a large audience of Jewish donors, suggesting that sanctions on Iran should not be lifted...
...He said he was skeptical about lifting sanctions against Iran at a time when its government seemed to be caving in, attendees said, and regretted the leverage the United States would lose as a result of lifting the sanctions. He questioned whether the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, under whom the current framework for a deal has been discussed, represents a new policy or a “new spokesman” for the old regime...
...Several attendees sensed a tacit critique of Mr. Obama and his failure to follow through on his threats to use force when Mr. Bush said “you gotta mean it” when talking tough, and that America’s allies and enemies needed to know where an American leader stood. He also discussed his own approach in Iraq, saying he changed course when it was warranted.
“You call in the military and say, ‘Here’s my goal. What’s your plan to help me achieve that goal?'” attendees quoted him as saying. He added that when asked what had to be done with terrorists bent on America’s destruction, the answer was “well, you kill ‘em,” several attendees recalled.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
