George Bush thought Iraq invasion was ‘mission from God’ and wanted to ‘kick ass’
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George Bush thought of the Iraq War as a ‘mission from God’, according to a top US official who tried to persuade Tony Blair to give the president a ‘dose of reality’. Newly released UK government files show Richard Armitage, who served as Bush’s deputy secretary of state for most of his first administration, made the comments to then-British ambassador Sir David Manning.
![[FALLUJAH, IRAQ - NOVEMBER 13: An Iraqi family holding two children (Rear) wait in their kitchen as U.S. Marines of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion 6th Marine Regiment, search their house in the early morning as part of raids against about 60 houses to try and find information about a grenade attack that wounded a U.S. Marine November 13, 2005 in Fallujah, Iraq. One year after the U.S. Marine invasion of Fallujah emptied, cleared and heavily damaged the city, some insurgents have made their way back, attacking with roadside bombs and grenades, even as many Fallujans rebuild from the damage of the November 2004 offensive. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234613086-b3ab.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Armitage urged Blair to use his relationship with the president to persuade him to back a ‘political process’ to restore order in the Middle Eastern country following the 2003 invasion. Bush had previously demanded US forces ‘kick ass’ as the scale of Iraqi resistance became clear, Armitage said.
![[CAMP PENDLETON, CA - DECEMBER 7: U.S. President George W. Bush speaks to Marines on the 63rd anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 2004 at Camp Pendleton, California. More than 21,000 Marines serving in Iraq and neighboring nations are part of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton, which has one of the highest casualty rates in the U.S.-led war in Iraq. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234613081-674c.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
The documents, released to the National Archives in Kew, west London, also show the official dismissing a US commander’s claims that he could quash an uprising in the city of Fallujah within days as ‘bullshit’. Less than one year after Bush notoriously declared ‘mission accomplished’ after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the offensive in Fallujah would turn into one of the biggest debacles of the Iraq campaign.
With much of the country in the grip of a violent insurgency, US troops launched Operation Vigilant Resolve to regain control of the city. However, their tactics and the increasing number of civilian deaths horrified members of the coalition set up to control the country after Saddam’s overthrow.
