Watch: Ex-US prez George Bush condemns Iraq invasion instead of Ukrainian war in major gaffe
George W Bush speaking at an event in Dallas, Texas
Former US president George W Bush made a major slip-up when he condemned the “brutal” and “unjustified” invasion of Iraq instead of referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Bush made these remarks during an event in Dallas on Wednesday while criticising Russia’s political system in which how every decision is taken by “one man” (referring to Putin).
“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,” Bush said, before correcting himself and shaking his head. “I mean, of Ukraine”.
The comments left the audience stunned, following which Bush added, “Iraq, too.”
But the awkward silence turned into laughter when the former president pinned the blame on his age, which is 75.
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After the video went viral on Twitter, many users wondered whether it was a "Freudian slip".
In 2003, during Bush’s presidency, the United States led an invasion on Iraq over claims of weapons of mass destruction that were never found. The prolonged conflict killed over 4,000 American troops and tens and thousands of Iraqi civilians people while many were displaced.
This is not the only eye-catching remark he made during the event. Bush even compared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Britain’s former prime minister Winston Churchill, calling the former a “cool little guy” and “the Churchill of the 21st century”
Also read |Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov says war with Russia is entering 'protracted phase'
“The way countries conduct elections is indicative of how their leaders treat their own people, and how nations behave toward other nations,” Bush said. “And nowhere is this on display more clearly than Ukraine.
The event was held at Bush’s presidential centre at Southern Methodist University.
The event examined the state of democracy and the safety of American elections in the wake of former president Donald Trump’s refusal to concede his electoral loss to Joe Biden, and the ensuing riot that took place at the US Capitol on January 6, which aimed to disrupt the certification of Biden’s victory.
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