Former US President George W Bush was left red-faced after by chance condemning a Russian invasion of "Iraq" - the nation his personal White Home determined to assault in 2003.
Bush was one in all a collection of audio system at his personal Presidential Centre, alongside former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, amongst others.
The forty third US president, who served from 2001 to 2008, launched a sustained rhetorical assault on Vladimir Putin's regime.
"Russian elections are rigged. Political opponents are imprisoned or in any other case eradicated from the electoral course of," Bush mentioned.
"The result's an absence of checks and balances in Russia, and the choice of 1 man to launch a completely unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq.
"I imply, Ukraine."
Quieter, Bush muttered "Iraq, too", earlier than glancing again up on the viewers and saying "75" - an obvious reference to his age.
His unintended reference to the lethal battle, which sparked a fall in US status around the globe and noticed a whole bunch of 1000's of individuals killed, drew laughter from the viewers.
Bush additionally praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, evaluating him to Winston Churchill, and saying he led his nation heroically towards Russian aggression.
The Bush administration invaded Iraq in March 2003, claiming the US had intelligence that then-dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
No such weapons have been discovered, however Hussein's regime was toppled and a democratic authorities put in.
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Bush declared victory in Might 2003, however US troops remained in Iraq till 2011.
Estimates of casualties range however sometimes are considered a number of hundred thousand, with many extra changed.
About 5000 US troops have been in the end killed throughout army operations in Afghanistan and Iraq launched by the Bush administration.
It is usually thought that the invasion of Iraq contributed to the rise of ISIS, with many ex-Hussein officers and troopers serving within the terror group's command construction.