Thomas Roberts didn’t stray an inch away from the liberal media narrative about conservative difficulties with Iraq War questions. On the May 20 edition of MSNBC Live, the host interviewed potential 2016 candidate and former New York governor George Pataki on the subject.
He led off by seeking Pataki’s opinion on what the Republican platform on Iraq should look like in 2016 and if invading Iraq “was a mistake.” Pataki wisely pointed to Hillary Clinton, imploring the media to ask if she and the president “made the right decision in 2012 when we decided to pull every last troop out of Iraq and create this vacuum.”
Roberts wasn’t satisfied with the answer, however, so he went back to the mainstream media playbook by placing all of the blame on former President Bush:
Pulling our troops out of Iraq in 2012 and, you say, creating a vacuum never would have happened if we didn't invade in the first place. So, back to the original question – is it a mistake?
Pataki responded by stating clearly that – knowing what we know now – “it was a mistake” to go to war in Iraq. He followed that statement with a point that Roberts and the media have consistently failed to recognize:
But I think it's equally as big a mistake to have created this void in 2012. Great many soldiers sacrificed enormously. Families lost their loved ones and we finally had established control, and we gave it all up.
It doesn't appear that the media narrative on Iraq -- that Bush is responsible for negative occurrence in Iraq post-invasion -- will be going away anytime soon.
The relevant portion of the transcript is below.
MSNBC
MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts
May 20, 2015
1:24 p.m. Eastern
JEB BUSH, former governor of Florida: ISIS didn’t exist when my brother was president.THOMAS ROBERTS, host: So, an interesting comment, as the Islamic State of Iraq – which would become ISIS – formed while Bush was president. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is in Chicago. She’s attending two fundraisers, as well as an event on childcare today. One day after talk to reporters for the first time in 28 days. Joining me now, former New York state governor George Pataki. Governor, it is great to have you here. I want to talk about you entering the 2016 race in a second. But first, your reaction to what the party's 2016 platform should be when questioned about Iraq and if it was a mistake.
GEORGE PATAKI, former NY governor: Keep America safe, and I think what we have to do is look forward. The press is always asking, did we make the right decision in 2002? I would ask Hillary Clinton did we make the right decision in 2012 when we decided to pull every last troop out of Iraq and create this vacuum. You can at point blames at people who were there in office, but let's look forward. What are we going to do now? The platform should be very simple. We're going to use America’s power to protect our security here at home. We're going to stand with our allies and let them know that our word is our bond. If they need our help, we'll be there. We're going to tell our enemies they have reason to fear us. Try attacking America. We're going to attack you first.
ROBERTS: Pulling our troops out of Iraq in 2012 and, you say, creating a vacuum never would have
happened if we didn't invade in the first place. So, back to the original question – is it a mistake?
PATAKI: You can go on and on and on. My answer, I've answered that a dozen times, yes, in retrospect, knowing what we know now, yes, it was a mistake to do it. But I think it's equally as big a mistake to have created this void in 2012. Great many soldiers sacrificed enormously. Families lost their loved ones and we finally had established control, and we gave it all up. And by the way, this is a little personal. I have a – my older son served as Marine lieutenant for year in Anbar. So I know what families have gone through, and to see it all just given up in 2012 and the chaos we have now I think is just really tragic.
