Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer is continuing to sound like a 2016 presidential candidate, taking an apparent swipe at presumed Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in an Iowa speech.
Speaking before a crowd at Progress Iowa on Wednesday night, Schweitzer spoke about threats in the Middle East and what he called a war for oil in Iraq.
Å“When we were attacked at 9/11 by 17 Saudis and two Egyptians who called themselves Al Qaeda, who werenâ„¢t welcome in Iraq, and George Bush got a bunch of Democrats to vote to go to that war, I was just shaking my head in Montana,” Schweitzer said, according to audio from Radio Iowa.
Schweitzer never mentioned the former secretary of state by name, but Clinton was a senator at the time who voted to authorize the war in Iraq, and her vote was a key component of President Barack Obamaâ„¢s successful campaign against her in the 2008 primary.
The former governor urged the Democrats he spoke to in the key early caucus state on Wednesday to choose a leader in the future who wouldnâ„¢t vote in such a way.
Å“Maybe weâ„¢re going to make the right decision or maybe weâ„¢re just going to go to war again,” Schweitzer said. Å“And the reason Iâ„¢m in Iowa, in part, is because Iâ„¢m asking you to pick the leaders that are going to say we are not going to make those mistakes, we might make mistakes, but weâ„¢re not going to make those mistakes and weâ„¢re not going to allow the military-industrial complex to run our country anymore.”
Schweitzer was reportedly asked about his comments after the event and responded with a grin, according to The Des Moines Register.
Å“Did she vote for it? I didnâ„¢t keep track. I think there were 21 Democrats who didnâ„¢t vote for it, she mightâ„¢ve been one of those,” he said to reporters.
Schweitzer has been generating buzz about a possible Clinton challenge in 2016, taking aim at the former secretary as the presumptive nominee in a Weekly Standard interview this week.
After his speech on Wednesday, which he delivered for about 35 minutes without notes, Schweitzer helped auction off items, including the belt buckle and bolo tie he was wearing, to raise money for Progress Iowa. POLITICO
AGB/AGB
Source: Press TV