Bush cycles with vets as review blasting Iraq War released

Protesters wearing a former British Prime Minister Tony Blair mask, left, and former U.S. President George W. Bush mask pose for the media outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London, shortly before the publication of the Chilcot report into the Iraq war, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. The long awaited British inquiry into the 2003 invasion of Iraq has been published. Led by former senior civil servant John Chilcot, the report took over seven years to prepare and runs over two million words. The report did not analyze the legality of the invasion and instead focused on the British decision-making process in the run up to the war in 2003. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Protesters wearing a former British Prime Minister Tony Blair mask, left, and former U.S. President George W. Bush mask pose for the media outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London, shortly before the publication of the Chilcot report into the Iraq war, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. The long awaited British inquiry into the 2003 invasion of Iraq has been published. Led by former senior civil servant John Chilcot, the report took over seven years to prepare and runs over two million words. The report did not analyze the legality of the invasion and instead focused on the British decision-making process in the run up to the war in 2003. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

By Associated Press July 6, 2016 1 min read

DALLAS (AP) – Former U.S. President George W. Bush is bicycling with wounded veterans on the same day a British inquiry has been released on the faulty intelligence and planning leading up to the Iraq War.

Bush spokesman Freddy Ford said Tuesday that Bush planned to spend Wednesday, his 70th birthday, at his Texas ranch riding his mountain bike with “wounded warriors.”

The report released Wednesday includes former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s letters to Bush assuring his support before the March 2003 invasion. In one letter, Blair urges Bush to go to the U.N. Security Council to build greater support for the war. Others include public relations advice.

The war killed nearly 4,500 American personnel, 179 British troops and more than 100,000 Iraqis.

Ford didn’t return messages seeking comment on the British report.