Former US President George Bush wanted to ‘kick ass’ in Iraq before he realised America was faring badly in the 2003 war, state papers say
Former US President George Bush believed he was on a ‘mission from God’ and wanted to ‘kick the ass’ in Iraq before realizing things were going badly for the US.
The insight into the former leader’s mind from the 2003 Iraq war was revealed by a senior US politician in new files released to the National Archives at Kew.
Richard Armitage, deputy to then Secretary of State Colin Powell, gave a blunt assessment of the regime’s chances of success in the Middle East.
He told British Ambassador to Washington David Manning that US military figures were “talking bullshit” when they said they could defeat insurgents.
He said some of the ideas were “politically crude”, but added: “Nevertheless, Bush had initially been enthusiastic and ‘wanted to kick some ass'”.
This ended after he was warned that military action in Fallujah, Iraq, would lead to the collapse of the Governing Council and ‘faced with this “dose of reality” Bush had withdrawn’.
The row came after the former US president famously declared ‘mission accomplished’ as Saddam Hussein was overthrown.
George Bush believed he was on a ‘mission from God’ and wanted to ‘kick ass’ in Iraq before realizing things were going badly for the US
Richard Armitage (pictured), then Deputy Foreign Secretary, had made a blunt assessment of the chances of success in the Middle East
Company Irish Guards fired on Iraqi troop positions in southern Iraq in April 2003. The row came after the former US president famously declared ‘mission accomplished’ as Saddam Hussein was overthrown.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell. His deputy, Mr. Armitage, told British diplomat David Manning that authorizing additional troops to tackle the fighting in the region would be “politically ugly” for Bush.
The triumph proved short-lived, as the country was engulfed by uprisings less than a year later, with violent battles taking place in the region.
Mr Armitage told the British diplomat that authorizing additional troops to tackle the problem would be “politically ugly” for the president.
He added, “Rich summed it all up by saying that Bush still thought he was on some mission from God, but that recent events had made him ‘quite more sober.’
Two weeks after the meeting, the US halted the offensive in Fallujah.
US troops remained in Iraq until 2011.