The UK questioned US ‘control’ over its tactics in Iraq one year before the invasion

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The UK government has questioned US control of its military operations in Iraq 13 months into the war, newly revealed documents show, underscoring the Blair government’s frustration with its most important ally. .

The documents, released by Cabinet Office On Tuesday, there were internal press releases prepared for former Prime Minister Tony Blair that raised concerns about whether the US has the effectiveness of its attack tactics.

“The prime minister may wish to ask Bush if there is a proper political control of military operations,” the documents said.

The briefs, which preceded a meeting with President George W Bush on April 16, 2004, also indicated that Britain believed that “too many military officers (are) talking too hard to US audiences.” “.

The revelations exposed the growing frustration of the UK and US governments after the start of the first battle for Fallujah on 4 April, which resulted in the victory of the Iraqi insurgency.

Blair’s decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq damaged his approval ratings and led to pressure building within the party for him to resign. In 2007, Blair stepped down as Labor leader after 10 years as prime minister.

A separate document from the UK embassy in Washington sent to Number 10 after the first week of the war revealed that the US assistant secretary of state, Richard Armitage, had told the British ambassador that Bush had want to “kick ass” in Fallujah. .

But, it added, “faced with the reality” that his actions could bring down the Iraqi government, Bush was forced to back down.

The paper said that Armitage believed that Bush “still thought he was on some kind of mission from God in Iraq” and expressed his view that the US was “slowly losing in the field of war” and there was no “coherent strategy” of action.

He then encouraged the British to argue with Bush that the United Nations must play an important role in establishing the political system in the country.

Before his meeting with Bush, Blair was informed by officials that Fallujah “did not show the US plan as much as possible”, with the American tactics “clear” and “their public announcements (have) raised the temperature”, to make the situation worse.

The British hoped to find a private consensus at the meeting that the US approach “needs to be more measured” as it was “a loss of political capital” for both governments.

The documents also reveal that UK officials believe that the US federal system “has not been good” since the start of the war.

The papers note that the US believes that the Polish, Spanish and Ukrainian governments have “taken sides”. The British also expressed their frustration with Ukraine for not supporting the war.

The “coalition of the willing” was formed in early 2003 before the decision to invade Iraq on March 20. At its peak, it included 49 countries.

The documents came ahead of a planned political change on June 30, in which the Iraqi interim government took control of the country from the established ruling council.

The conflict finally ended in 2011 after a long struggle from militant groups following the fall of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The Cabinet Office and Armitage declined to comment.