US ex-president Bush senior could soon leave hospital

Former US president George H.W. Bush could be released from hospital as soon as this week, his spokesman said Sunday, following recent treatment for bronchitis. Asked if Bush, 88, would be leaving hospital, his spokesman Jim McGrath told AFP: "It's distinctly possible. We hope it'll be in the coming week. "He is getting better every day. He is getting stronger every day. We are taking things one day at a time." Bush, the oldest surviving former US president, was first admitted to a Houston hospital on November 7 for bronchitis treatment, and released after 12 days. But he was readmitted four days later after his cough flared up again. Doctors had hoped to have the elder statesman home for Christmas, but he was instead forced to spend the holiday season in the hospital, where he was joined by his wife Barbara, son Neil and grandson Pierce. Bush, a Republican, served only one term in the White House, from 1989 to 1993, despite sending US troops to victory in the first Gulf War in which an American-led coalition expelled Saddam Hussein's invading forces from Kuwait. Bush, a decorated World War II veteran, had earlier served in several top government posts, including as vice president to Ronald Reagan, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and as US ambassador to the United Nations. He was also chief of the US Liaison Office in China when Washington had official ties with Beijing's foe Taipei. His son George W. Bush served two terms as president and also went to war with Iraq, this time sending US-led troops all the way to Baghdad to overthrow Saddam, whom he had wrongly accused of hoarding weapons of mass destruction.