Goytisolo regards Bush 's invasion of Iraq , which he described in a recent essay as '' the illegitimate war of an illegitimate president , '' as the crowning catastrophe in a series of American blunders in the Muslim world , extending from U.S. backing in the 80 's of both Saddam Hussein and the Taliban to U.S. support of deeply unpopular and repressive regimes in Egypt , North Africa and the gulf states .