UK questions US ‘control’ over Iraq tactics after year of invasion

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Newly revealed documents show the British government has questioned US control over its military operations in Iraq after 13 months of war.

Documents published by Cabinet Office on Tuesday, there were internal briefings prepared for then-prime minister Tony Blair, raising concerns about whether the United States had a grasp of its aggressive tactics.

“The Prime Minister may want to question Bush about whether there is appropriate political control over military operations,” the document said.

Press conferences that preceded the meeting with President George W Bush on 16 April 2004 also showed that Britain believed “there were too many military officers”. [were] having a difficult conversation with an American audience.”

These revelations reveal the British government’s growing frustration with the US after the first battle of Fallujah began on April 4, resulting in a victory for Iraqi rebels.

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

A separate document from the British embassy in Washington sent to Number 10 after the first week of the battle revealed that then US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told the British ambassador that Bush wanted to “kick some ass ” in Fallujah. .

However, the newspaper added, “faced with the reality” that his actions could topple the Iraqi government, Bush was forced to back down.

The newspaper said Armitage believes Bush “still thinks he is on some kind of mission from God in Iraq” and expressed the view that the US is “gradually losing on the battlefield” and has “no coherent strategy ” for activities.

He then urged the British to reason with Bush that the United Nations must play an important role in establishing a political process in the country.

Before meeting with Bush, Blair was briefed by officials that Fallujah “did not represent America’s best planning,” with America’s tactics “clumsy” and its “public statements.” [having] increase in temperature”, making the situation worse.

The British hope to reach a private agreement during the meeting that the US approach “needs to be more measured” because it “loses political capital” for both governments.

The documents also reveal that British officials believed that the management of the American coalition had “never been good” since the beginning of the war.

The newspapers noted that the US believed the governments of Poland, Spain and Ukraine had “let them down”. The British also expressed frustration with Ukraine over a perceived lack of support for the war effort.

The “Alliance of Goodwill” was established in early 2003 before the decision to attack Iraq on March 20. At its peak, the alliance included 49 countries.

The documents come ahead of a planned political transition on June 30, in which Iraq’s interim government takes control of the country from an established governing council.

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

The Cabinet Office and Armitage declined to comment.