12.1 |
Security Sector Reform
“It was
clear to me that what was at that stage developing into quite a
sort of robust
peaceful
protest had the potential to go a lot further … So I proposed …
that we
should
effectively demobilise these people with a demobilisation payment
and then
take them
on … as 10,000 more on the 180,000 civil sector workers with a
marker
against
their name to be part of the future security structure and almost
immediately
then we
started employing them in a force that we created called the Basra
River
Service
which was designed to promote security on the waterway, along which
a
vast amount
of looted copper and brass ingots were being spirited away into a
sort
of open
black market in the Gulf and tons of steel from cables and all
manner of
441.
July saw a
substantial reduction of military personnel within South‑East
Iraq,
including a
reduction in RMP platoons from eight to two (approximately 800
to
442.
Following the
agreement for the UK to provide a Chief Constable to be the
senior
policing
adviser to the CPA within the MOI, officials in the FCO continued
to recommend
the
deployment of around 20 MOD police officers.385
443.
It appears
that that deployment was first mentioned to CPA(South) on 7 June
when
an email
was sent from the UND to a junior official who was seconded to
CPA(South).386
The
official’s response was that it would not be feasible for the MOD
police officers to
come under
CPA(South) as they had no authority to manage the responsibility,
and no
ability to
provide security.
444.
The IPU was
concerned that that might prove a stumbling block: they were
keen
to ensure
that the MOD police officers had some responsibility to the CPA’s
policing
445.
As a result,
they began to consider providing CPA(South) with “a
secondee
with
specific responsibility for policing/SSR”.388
That idea
was strongly welcomed by
CPA(South).
446.
In June, the
FCO agreed to appoint ACC Douglas Brand from the South
Yorkshire
Constabulary
to the post of Senior Police Adviser to the CPA in Baghdad (as
described
383
Private
hearing, 2 June 2010, pages 9‑10.
384
Minute FCO
[junior official] to PS/Foreign Secretary, 8 July 2003, ‘Iraq:
Police Reform’.
385
Minute UND
[junior official] to MOD(Sec Iraq), 9 June 2003, ‘Iraq: Policing
Strategy’.
386
Email MOD
[junior official] to FCO [junior official], 7 June 2003, ‘Basra
Police Training Team: Possible
Deployment’.
387
Email Lowe
[MOD] to FCO [junior official], 9 June 2003, ‘Basra Police Training
Team: Possible
Deployment’.
388
Email Home
Office [junior official] to FCO [junior official], 10 June 2003,
‘Basra Police Training Team:
Possible
Deployment’.
155