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.

He appealed to former prime minister Tony Blair to persuade Mr Bush that there needed to be a wider “political process” if order was to be restored.

President Bush famously declared “mission accomplished” following the removal of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein during the US and British invasion of spring 2003.

Less than a year later much of the country was in the grip of violent insurgency, with US troops engaged in a bloody battle in Fallujah where resistance fighters had ambushed and killed four private military contractors.

After their burned and mutilated bodies were displayed hanging from a bridge over the Euphrates river, the US launched Operation Vigilant Resolve to regain control.

Within one week, US troops had taken around a third of the city, but their tactics caused dismay among politicians on the Iraqi governing council (IGC), which had been set up by the coalition following the fall of Saddam.

In the meeting, Mr Armitage said that Mr Bush had initially “wanted to kick ass” with US marines occupying the entire city but was warned by Paul Bremer, the leader of the coalition provisional authority, that such a course of action would lead to the collapse of the IGC, damaging hopes of establishing an independent Iraqi administration.

Two weeks after their meeting, the US, under pressure from the IGC, finally called off the slaughter in Fallujah.

The US lost 27 troops, while around 200 insurgents and some 600 Iraqi civilians were thought to have been killed.

Coalition forces took the city in a second offensive launched in November 2004. US troops remain in Iraq to this day, despite repeated requests from its parliament that they leave.