Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on March 6 confirmed that he met with former U.S. President George W. Bush during his recent trip to the United States.

I was honored to see President Bush during my visit to the United States. I thanked him for his personal support to the people of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq; for liberating Iraq from a brutal dictator, and for backing the democratic process in the country. pic.twitter.com/90YLsXS9iq

— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) March 6, 2024

“I was honored to see President Bush during my visit to the United States. I thanked him for his personal support to the people of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq; for liberating Iraq from a brutal dictator, and for backing the democratic process in the country,” he posted on X.

“President Bush said he prays for the well-being of the peoples of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. He also expressed his warm regards for President Barzani.”

Read More: Prime Minister Barzani Concludes U.S. Visit

On February 24, 2024, on an official invitation by the Biden administration, Prime Minister Barzani traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with top U.S. officials and members of Congress. His trip concluded on February 26. 

It was to an honor to attend and deliver former US Prez. Bush letter to @masoud_barzani at inauguration ceremony of Barzani National Memorial. pic.twitter.com/lDLVUQryni

— TREEFA AZIZ (@treefa_aziz) May 12, 2023

Former U.S. President Bush has maintained a relationship with the Kurdish leadership since the end of his presidency in 2009.

For instance, on May 11, 2023, the KRG Representative to the United States Treefa Aziz read a letter from former U.S. President Bush to Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani at the inauguration of the Barzani National Memorial in Barzan.

In the message he praised the leadership of KDP President Barzani and acknowledged his crucial role in opening a new chapter for Iraq. “You have been an indispensable partner to the United States,” the letter said. 

Bush in 2003 ordered the liberation of Iraq from Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath regime and welcomed then-Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani to the Oval Office on October 25, 2005.

“He’s a man of courage; he’s a man who has stood up to a tyrant,” Bush said of Barzani in 2005.

“Mr. President, allow me on behalf of the people of Kurdistan and myself to thank you, very much. We in Kurdistan, particularly, and also in Iraq, generally, we highly value the courage and bravery of your leadership,” President Barzani replied.

“I hope that everybody would realize what the fact on the ground is about Iraq. It was a brave decision that you have made – you have liberated a people from a dictatorial regime that has hurt a lot of the people.”

“President George Bush is the liberator of Iraq. If it wasn’t for Bush’s war of liberation, Saddam would be in power today. Every Iraqi should be thankful to him,” Entifadh Qanbar, President and Founder of the Kurdish Protection Action Committee, told Kurdistan Chronicle.

“The most successful outcome of the liberation is the Kurdistan Region, which has grown into a thriving democracy and serves as a model U.S. ally in the region. The Kurds remain thankful to the United States. Out of the 4,000 U.S. young men and women killed in Iraq, none were killed in Kurdistan.

“Kurdish and American sacrifices must not be in vain. We must all protect the achievements of the Kurdish people.”