Former US President George W Bush mistakenly condemns invasion of Iraq

Former US President George W Bush. Photo / AP

Former US President George W Bush has mistakenly condemned the "wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq".

Speaking at the George W Bush Presidential Centre about the war in Ukraine, the former president argued it was a lack of democratic checks and balances that allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to launch an unprovoked attack on another country.

"Russian elections are rigged. Political opponents are imprisoned or otherwise eliminated," Bush said. "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 quickly corrected himself, saying "I mean - of Ukraine", but then murmured, "well, Iraq too".

Former President George W. Bush: “The decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq. I mean of Ukraine.” pic.twitter.com/UMwNMwMnmX

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) May 19, 2022

The Bush administration launched the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 with an aim "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people".

The Iraqi government was quickly toppled, but the country slowly descended into a sectarian civil war. The death toll resulting from the invasion and subsequent violence ranges in the hundreds of thousands.

In 2004, the then-UN secretary general Kofi Annan said the invasion of Iraq breached international law.

"It was not in conformity with the UN charter," Annan said. "From our point of view and from the charter point of view it was illegal."