In your editorial on Aug. 27, you assert that somehow George Bush had something to do with the Arab Spring because of his actions in Iraq.

You are asserting that about a president who stood in front of the American people and lied about the presence of weapons in Iraq, as well as trying to conflate Osama bin Laden with Saddam Hussein, another utterly false connection.

Bush made us pariahs in the world and made it easier for us to be seen as imperialists by people subjugated by their despotic leaders. Some 5,000 American soldiers and 100,000 Iraqis died. Not to mention that Bush borrowed the money off-budget for this war and now we are talking about cutting off Social Security and Medicaid for our own citizens in part because of his reckless borrowing.

Bush borrowed trillions to fight this war while cutting taxes for the wealthy, which led us down the path of record deficits. I haven’t seen a news report in months in your paper or anywhere else about what’s happening in Iraq. How do we know whether American lives and treasure have made things better for Iraqis?

Egypt’s democratic spring was hatched by middle-class Egyptians and organized labor groups in Egypt connected by social media and a desire to have a voice. Please stop advocating American imperialism without a shred of facts to support your assertion.