Blair needed to "deliver some difficult messages" to the US president for a "more measured approach" in April 2004, following an operation to suppress a major uprising in the city of Falluja, according to papers released to the National Archives in Kew, west London.
In a candid conversation, recorded in a document marked "please protect very carefully", Richard "Rich" Armitage, the US deputy secretary of state, told Sir David Manning, the UK ambassador, that Bush had needed a "dose of reality" after demanding his forces "kick ass" when four private military contractors were killed.
Armitage appealed to Blair to use his influence in a visit to Washington on 16 April to urge Bush to deal with Falluja "as part of a carefully judged political process".
This story is from the December 31, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 31, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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