Former president George W Bush is facing criticism after describing the invasion of Iraq — which he led as commander in chief — as “brutal” and “wholly unjustified” before correcting himself to say he meant to refer to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Former president George W Bush is facing criticism after describing the invasion of Iraq — which he led as commander in chief — as “brutal” and “wholly unjustified” before correcting himself to say he meant to refer to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The result is an absence of checks and balances in Russia, and the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq — I mean of Ukraine,” Mr Bush said during a speech at his presidential centre in Dallas. The 75-year-old former president jokingly blamed the mistake on his age, shaking his head and correcting himself, drawing laughter from the crowd.
“Iraq, too — anyway,” he added, before moving on without explaining the Iraq reference. In his remarks, Mr Bush also likened Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to Britain’s wartime leader Winston Churchill, a comparison he also made earlier this month after meeting Mr Zelensky via video chat, according to social posts from his presidential centre.
