War Former President Bush is confused with Ukraine and describes the invasion of Iraq as "brutal" and "unjustified"
An Iraqi was arrested in the
United States
on Tuesday for allegedly planning to assassinate former US President
George W. Bush
(2001-2009) for suffering caused by the invasion of
Iraq
.
According to a statement from the Department of Justice, suspect
Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab
, 52, was arrested today by the
FBI
and appeared in federal court, where he was charged with an immigration crime and being an accomplice in a plot to kill Bush.
Shihab reportedly traveled to
Dallas, Texas
last February to stake out Bush-related locations, and a month later he met with other cronies in a hotel room in
Columbus, Ohio
to see samples of firearms and police uniforms.
According to the indictment, the Iraqi entered the US in September 2020 with a visitor's visa and in March 2021 applied for asylum along with US citizenship, a lawsuit that is still pending resolution.
During this time Shihab has lived in Columbus and
Indianapolis (Indiana)
, and has worked in markets and restaurants.
Court documents indicate that the defendant also tried to illegally bring Iraqis to the US to carry out his plan.
Specifically, in August 2021, he allegedly tried to smuggle into the country an individual he thought was Iraqi, but was in fact an
FBI-orchestrated hoax
, in exchange for payment of $40,000.
The indictment adds that Shihab planned to bring four Iraqis to the US with the goal of assassinating Bush and intended them to flee across the border to
Mexico
once the former president was dead.
Shihab faces a possible life sentence for allegedly planning to assassinate the former president and 10 years in prison for the immigration crime he has been charged with.
Before the indictment was made public,
Forbes
magazine had revealed that the FBI was investigating Shihab for this plot and explained that this body was placed on the Iraqi's trail thanks to two informants and the surveillance of his account.
.
Forbes, who had access to the FBI's search and arrest warrant, stated that the Iraqi would be linked to the
Islamic State (IS)
terrorist group .
Bush's chief of staff,
Freddy Ford
, said in a statement published by US media that the former president "trusts the world, the United States
Secret Service
and the security and intelligence communities."
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