Jeb Bush: Iraq war questions a ‘disservice’ to troops

Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) on Wednesday sought to sidestep questions about whether he would have authorized the Iraq War, saying such “hypotheticals” are a “disservice” to fallen troops.

“If we’re going to get back into hypotheticals, I think it does a disservice to a lot of people who sacrificed a lot,” Bush said during a town hall in Nevada, according to ABC News. 

The report said Bush discussed calling the families of servicemembers who died while serving as governor.

“Going back in time and talking about hypotheticals — what would have happened, what could have happened — I think, does a disservice for them,” he added. “What we ought to be focusing on is what are the lessons learned.”

Bush is a likely 2016 contender but has yet to formally launch his campaign. He was challenged by a member of the audience, who suggested Bush’s bid was also a hypothetical.

{mosads}”Rewriting history is hypothetical,” Bush responded, according to reports, which included a testy exchange in which a student in the audience accused him of being “pedantic.”

Bush has faced questions in recent days over the Iraq War, led by his brother, former President George W. Bush.

He told Fox News’s Megyn Kelly in an interview that aired Monday he would have authorized the 2003 invasion knowing what he knows now.

A former Bush aide said Tuesday that he had “misheard” the question from Kelly, a claim Bush repeated in Nevada on Wednesday.

But Bush also dodged the question in an interview with conservative radio host Sean Hannity on Tuesday night, again shying away from addressing a hypothetical question.

“I don’t know what that decision would have been,” Bush said when asked by Hannity if he would have ordered the invasion.

Critics have seized on Bush’s answers, with Democrats trying to tie him to his brother’s controversial foreign policy.

Bush, who is expected to launch his campaign soon, has said that “mistakes were made” in the war due to faulty intelligence.

This story was updated at 4:17 p.m.