Let history be my husband's judge: Laura Bush

If Saddam Hussein was still ruling the country, Muntadar al-Zaidi would probably have been executed, she said.

The US President, George Bush, had laughed off the episode on December 14. He was "a very quick … [and] natural athlete", she told Fox Television on Sunday night, but added: "Of course, I was not amused. It was an assault."

How the Baghdad TV reporter was treated was a matter for Iraqi authorities, she said.

"But I know if Saddam Hussein had been there the man would not have been released and he would probably, you know, would have been executed.

"As bad as the incident is, in my view it is a sign that Iraqis feel a lot freer to express themselves."

Al-Zaidi's brother has said he was tortured into writing a letter of apology while in jail. The reporter faces up to two years in prison for insulting a foreign leader, although his actions have made him something of a popular hero.

During the interview, Mrs Bush said her husband's presidency, which was initially centred on a domestic program of reform, had been redefined by the terrorist attacks of September 2001. She rejected suggestions the presidency had been a failure, noting that there had not been a repeat attack.

She also rejected claims that Iraq had been a distraction from the main focus of Afghanistan, which had harboured the September 11 plotters.

"I don't think that's true at all," Mrs Bush said.

"We've stayed very, very invested in Afghanistan.

"Not as invested militarily maybe, and maybe that's what the critics say, that it should have been more military, but I think we stayed very invested."

Mrs Bush said it was too early to judge the presidency. "I know it's not [a failure] and so I don't really feel like I need to respond to people that view it that way. I think history will judge, and we will see later."