Former President George W. Bush, who’s kept a dignified low profile in the year and a half since he left office, made a splash this week with a vigorous defense of some of the most contentious decisions of his incumbency.
And good for him.
Asked at a Grand Rapids, Mich., forum Wednesday night about his decision to authorize the waterboarding of al Qaeda mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed, Bush said he’d “do it again to save lives.”
The invasion of Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein? It “was the right thing to do, and the world is a better place without him.”
The 43rd president himself has admirably refrained from criticizing his successor, but his tone provides a refreshing contrast to Barack Obama’s frequent equivocations.
Bush understood the threat from radical Islam that the country faced and was dogged in his response to it.
That’s the kind of resolve that can overcome a litany of mistakes.
The former president clearly also understands that a confident and honorable nation doesn’t need to apologize for the hard calls it makes to keep itself safe.
Keep talking sense, Dubya.