Tony Blair’s advisers privately questioned whether the US had “appropriate political control” of military operations in Iraq, after a senior US official admitted that George W Bush believed he was in control of Iraqi insurgents. Were on “God’s mission” against, newly released documents reveal.
According to papers released at the National Archives, following the US military operation to suppress a major insurgency in the city of Fallujah in April 2004, Blair needed to “deliver some tough messages” to the then US President for a “more measured approach”. Kew, West London.
In a surprisingly frank conversation, which was recorded in a document marked “Please protect very carefully”, Richard “Rich” Armitage, then US Deputy Secretary of State, asked Sir David Manning, then ambassador to Britain, Said, that Bush needed a “dose of reality”. Following calls for US forces to “kick ass” in Fallujah, where US troops were engaged in bloody fighting with Iraqi militants after four private military contractors were ambushed and killed.
Armitage appealed to Blair to use his influence in an upcoming visit to Washington on 16 April and urged Bush to deal with Fallujah “as part of a carefully thought out political process”.
The United States launched Operation Vigilant Resolve in Fallujah in May 2003, less than a year after the overthrow of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, after the dismembered bodies of American contractors were found hanging from a bridge over the Euphrates River.
Bush was initially influenced by his military generals and wanted to “harass” the American marines occupying the city. But politicians in the Coalition Provisional Authority, formed after Saddam’s fall, feared that a US military response could damage hopes of establishing an independent Iraqi administration.
Bush backed down after facing “this dose of reality”, Manning reported back to No. 10.
Rich summed it up by saying that Bush still felt like he was on some kind of mission from God. But recent events have made him ‘rather more sober.’
Bush famously declared “mission accomplished” after the US and UK coalition forces overthrew Hussein. But the White House had previously dismissed as “absurd” reports that Bush privately told a Palestinian delegation in 2003 that God had spoken to him and said: “George, go fight these terrorists in Afghanistan” and “George, go and end the atrocities in Iraq.”
Armitage dismissed as “nonsense” and “politically foolish” claims by General John Abizaid, the overall US commander in Iraq, that he could suppress the Fallujah insurgency in a matter of days. According to Manning’s report, Armitage believed that the US was “slowly losing on the battlefield” and that it was “inevitable” that the administration would have to send more troops, which would be “politically unattractive” for Bush. ” will be.
Number 10 was nervous about a US military response. A briefing document ahead of Blair’s visit to Washington in April 2004 stated that the events in Fallujah had “used up a great deal of the coalition’s political capital”.
“Publicly we would like to underline our continued commitment to accomplishing this task, but privately we will need to send some tough messages to Bush about the need for a more measured approach by the US military under appropriate political oversight , and requires that the occupation clearly end on July 1,” it said.
It said: “The Prime Minister may question Bush about whether there is appropriate political control over military operations,” and concluded: “In short, too many military officials are talking tough in front of an American audience, whose “Very little attention is being given to the impact on any Iraqi or civilian.” Regional audience.”
Blair’s foreign policy adviser, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, in a memo to the Prime Minister described Britain’s main concerns as “clumsy American handling”, “disproportionate American military tactics – what they did in Fallujah was a form of collectivization on Iraqi TV screens”. . Punishment” and “apocalyptic media treatment”.
The US lost 27 troops, while about 200 insurgents and 600 Iraqi civilians were feared dead in Fallujah at the time. Coalition forces captured the city in a second offensive launched in November 2004. US forces remained in Iraq until 2011.