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The UK government questioned US control of its military operations in Iraq 13 months into the war, newly revealed documents show, highlighting the frustration of the Blair government and its most important partner.
Documents, issued by Cabinet Office On Tuesday, it contained insider comments prepared for former prime minister Tony Blair that raised concerns about whether the US had the means to attack.
“The Prime Minister may wish to ask Bush about whether there is adequate political control over military operations,” the documents said.
These comments, which came before a meeting with President George W Bush on 16 April 2004, also indicated that Britain believed that “many military officers (were) speaking too harshly to the US audience”.
The revelations put the growing concern of the UK and US governments after the start of the first battle of Fallujah on April 4, which led to the Iraqi victory.
Blair's decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq damaged his approval rating 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 showed that the US Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, had told the British ambassador that Bush wanted to “kick ass” in Fallujah. .
But, he added, “faced with a dose of reality” that his actions could bring down the Iraqi government, Bush was forced to back down.
The paper said that Armitage believed that Bush “thought he was on some mission from God in Iraq” and expressed his view that the US was “steadily losing the battle” and that there was no “coherent strategy” in operation.
He then urged the British to reason with Bush that the United Nations should play an important role in the establishment of a political system in the country.
Before his meeting with Bush, Blair was told by officials that Fallujah “did not show the planning of the US as much as possible”, and the American tactics “clumsy” and “their public announcements (which) raised the temperature”, increased the situation.
The British hoped to find a private agreement at the meeting that the US approach “needed to be more measured” as it was “losing political capital” for both governments.
The documents also reveal that UK officials believe the US federal government has “not been good” since the start of the war.
The papers noted that the US believed that the governments of Poland, Spain and Ukraine had “left the side”. The British people once again expressed their disappointment with Ukraine for not supporting the war effort.
The “coalition of the willing” was established in early 2003 before the decision to invade Iraq on March 20. At its peak, it included 49 countries.
The documents come ahead of a political transition planned for June 30, in which the Iraqi interim government takes control of the country from the governing council.
The conflict finally ended in 2011 after a long uprising by militant groups following the fall of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 2003.
The Cabinet Office and Armitage declined to comment.