The UK government questioned the US’s control of its military operations in Iraq 13 months into the war, newly revealed documents show, highlighting the Blair government's frustrations with its most important ally.
The documents, released by the Cabinet Office on Tuesday, contained internal briefings prepared for then prime minister Tony Blair that raised concerns over whether the US had a grip on its invasion tactics.
“The prime minister may wish to question Bush on whether there is proper political control of military operations,” the documents said.
The briefings, which came ahead of a meeting with President George W Bush on April 16, 2004, also showed that Britain believed that “too many military officers [were] talking tough to a US audience”.