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Then US President George Bush waves at onlookers as he arrives, at Prestwick airport for the G8 Summit at Gleneagles, July 6, 2005
FORMER US President George W Bush believed he was on a “mission from God” to crush Iraqi insurgents and regain control of the country following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, newly released British government files reveal.
The president had been egged on by “bullshit” claims from his generals and had to be given a “dose of reality” after demanding US forces “kick ass” in the face of rising Iraqi resistance, said former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage.
Mr Armitage was scathing about boasts by the US commander in Iraq that he could put down a major uprising in the city of Fallujah within days in a private meeting with Britain’s ambassador Sir David Manning on April 14 2004.
ANDREW MURRAY looks back on the ignominious career of the former US vice-president, who died earlier this week
SOLOMON HUGHES highlights a 1995 Sunday Times story about the disappearance of ‘defecting Iraqi nuclear scientist.’ Even though the story was debunked, it was widely repeated across the mainstream press, creating the false – and deadly – narrative of Iraqi WMD that eventually led to war
