Former US President George W. Bush erroneously called the invasion of Iraq “brutal” and “unjustified” before correcting himself by claiming he was referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Bush made the statement in a speech at a party in Dallas on Wednesday when he criticized the Russian political system. “The result is a lack of checks and balances in Russia and a one-man decision to launch a brutal and completely unjustified invasion of Iraq,” Bush said before amending his words and shaking his head. “I mean Ukraine.” He jokingly blamed his age for the mistake, and the audience burst into laughter.
And in 2003, when Bush was president, the United States invaded Iraq over weapons of mass destruction that were never found. The protracted conflict has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and many more displaced people. Bush’s remarks quickly spread on social media, garnering over three million views on Twitter alone after a Dallas News reporter posted the clip. The former US president also compared Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to British wartime leader Winston Churchill, denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin for launching an invasion of Ukraine in February.
