George W Bush under fire over ‘brutal’ Iraq invasion slip-up

The 75-year-old former president jokingly blamed the mistake on his age, shaking his head and correcting himself, drawing laughter from the crowd.

George W Bush launched the war on Iraq (Thaier al-Sudani/AP)

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.