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Speaking from the Oval Office last Tuesday evening to mark what he called, with more hope than precision, “the end of our combat mission in Iraq,” President Obama had occasion to mention the previous occupant. “This afternoon,” he said,

I spoke to former President George W. Bush. It’s well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset. Yet no one can doubt President Bush’s support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security.