A gaffe by former US president George W. Bush during a speech opened up old wound of Iraq war. Bush wronged Ukraine with Iraq in his remarks.
In a speech a few days ago, an ex-US President condemned the “wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq.” It was seemingly a blunder that arose at a lecture in Texas, the United States.
During his address last Wednesday, George W. Bush intended to condemn Russian war against Ukraine. Under fallacious charges, Bush initiated the Iraq war less than two decades ago.
Baghdad was allegedly manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, according to US claims. A claim for which no proof was ever provided led to long years of war, violence and blood.
“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 during his remarks in Dallas. “I mean, of Ukraine,” he corrected himself. He then used his sense of humor by saying “Iraq too” to change the atmosphere and incite laughter.
Experts and analyzers grabbed the unexpected admission instantly. Several studies have documented the Bush government’s reliance on erroneous information to begin a massive war. They also mentioned his deception of the nation in the process that led to the conflict. For long years, activists have demanded that Bush and other authorities must be held responsible for an unlawful war.
HRW’s media coordinator in Europe dubbed the blunder the “Freudian slip of the century.” “If I could tell my 17-year-old self one thing it’s that George W Bush will admit to unjustly invading Iraq in 17 years.” Another observer posted on twitter. The long line of reaction goes on to the American public as the main critics of the Iraq war.
Bush War in Iraq
“Wow, the one-time Bush told the truth about the invasion of #Iraq,” says a current Middle East scholar. This remark by a person who works in an American academic institute truly indicates the public view towards Iraq war.
The US war against Iraq has had direct links with the country’s chronic insecurity during the years that followed. The battle, which ended in 2011, resulted in the formation of the ISIS in the second decade of the twentieth century.
Since the US war started 19 years ago, the Iraq Body Count Project has reported a total of 209,422 violent civilian fatalities in Iraq. Not so long after the war kicked off, the International Council of Jurists in Geneva declared it a “war of aggression” that was a violation of international conventions.
A Dutch investigation concluded in 2010 that the invasion had “no legal foundation. It was the first impartial legal evaluation of the Iraq war.
Former US president, along with his main ally in London No. 10, were convicted guilty of war crimes by a Malaysian War Crimes Tribunal in 2011. The verdict was based on crimes against humanity for the aggression and had forcible status.
In less than 24 hours, the video of Bush’s remark had been seen more than 12 million times on social media. According to some observers, the blunder revealed more than merely a bad conscience.
“No but seriously, George W Bush whisperingly affirms his own self-description as launching a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq,” an American professor and expert at politics posted on Twitter.
The new developments may not open a new page in Iraq war, but was enlightening to public about the truth. Thanks to the social media, leaders cannot hide behind their words in television stories.
