It’s no secret that one of the main reasons why Barack Obama has the title of president behind his name is because of his opposition to the 2003 Iraq War.

So it was surprising when he decided to give a subtle shout out to former President George W. Bush Jr., for his decision to give General David Petraeus the green light to use a community policing plan in Sunni neighborhoods.

The plan, along with the Sunni Awakening and 2007 troop surge, helped to stabilize Iraq. During a press conference after the G-7 Summit, the president told reporters that working with the Sunni community will be a better option to defeating ISIS in Iraq.

President Obama said, “And so one of the efforts that I’m hoping to see out of Prime Minister Abadi, and the Iraqi legislature when they’re in session, is to move forward on a National Guard law that would help to devolve some of the security efforts in places like Anbar to local folks, and to get those Sunni tribes involved more rapidly. This is part of what helped defeat AQI—the precursor of ISIL-during the Iraq war in 2006.”

Although it’s abnormal for President Obama to overtly or subtly admit that Bush made any right decision during the Iraq War, President Obama’s abnormality can be explained by the fact that he is finally accepting that the U.S. is at war with ISIS.

ISIS’ taking of several Iraqi cities has forced President Obama to admit, “I’ve oomph-up and I need help.”

It’s just that in this case the help that President Obama is getting is coming from the predecessor (G.W. Bush) whom he, President Obama, implied on several occasions could do no right when it came to the Iraq War.