Former President George W. Bush told Brian Kilmeade Thursday that he would have listened to his generals and would have left a residual force in Iraq.
Martha MacCallum: It is well known that the military recommended that we leave a residual force of 10-15,000. Did you feel the same way? And, President Bush said, ‘I did. I did feel the same way.” He wanted to leave that force there which he is on the record of having said. And, here’s what he said after that.
President Bush: The president has to make the choices that he thinks are important. I’m not going to second guess our president. I understand how tough the job is… But I agreed with General Dempsey’s assessment.
Barack Obama withdrew all US forces in December 2011. It was one of the the most irresponsible presidential decisions in US history.
Via America’s Newsroom:
In November 2011 Senator John McCain asked General Martin Dempsey whether there were any U.S. military commanders in favor of full withdrawal from Iraq. “No, senator, none of us recommended that we completely withdraw from Iraq,” Dempsey replied.