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George W. Bush (archive image)
Photo: Ringo Chiu / dpa
According to US media, investigators in the USA have foiled an assassination plan against former US President George W. Bush.
A 52-year-old man from Iraq, who also lived in the state of Ohio, was arrested on Tuesday morning, the US Department of Justice said.
According to US media, the man is a supporter of the terrorist militia "Islamic State".
He is said to have planned to smuggle more Iraqi nationals into the US to assassinate the former president.
In the winter, the suspect traveled to the metropolis of Dallas to spy on Bush's residence, according to the ministry.
The 52-year-old is said to have justified his plan by saying that Bush was "responsible for the killing of many Iraqis and the destruction of all of Iraq," CNN quoted court documents as saying.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a few months after Bush took office, the United States launched a "war on terror."
The 2003 war in Iraq followed the invasion of Afghanistan.
Bush remained president until 2009. The Iraq war was one of the defining developments of his tenure.
The alleged preventive strike was justified at the time by wanting to prevent an alleged attack by Iraq on the USA with weapons of mass destruction.
During the war, dictator Saddam Hussein was overthrown.
Weapons of mass destruction were not found.
Instead, the country fell into civil war-like conditions during the occupation.
Hundreds of thousands of people were killed.
The conflict also drove many people to flee.
To this day, the US invasion is sharply criticized.
Iraqi slip of the tongue sparks laughter
Even the Republican politician himself does not seem to be able to let go of the topic after almost 20 years.
At least that's what a slip of the tongue in a speech suggests.
During a performance in Dallas, he sharply criticized Russian politics.
“Russian elections are rigged.
Political opponents are jailed or otherwise excluded from the electoral process,” he said.
"The result is the lack of controls and counterbalances in Russia and the decision of one man to launch a totally unwarranted and brutal invasion of Iraq," Bush said.
His slip of the tongue caught his eye immediately.
Bush shook his head and corrected: "I mean Ukraine." The 75-year-old jokingly referred to his age.
His audience responded with laughter.
jok/dpa
