The Report of the Iraq Inquiry

and shape of Iraq’s security forces should be. They concluded that Iraqi forces were

“not prepared” to combat the violent insurgency and that more forces, both police and

military, were urgently required. Their recommendations for increases in the number

of police, border patrol officers and Iraqi National Guard (ING) (shown below) brought

the proposed total number of ISF to around 271,000, all of whom would receive

counter‑insurgency training. It would later become known as the “Petraeus Plan”.

Table 3: Summary of “Troops to Task” assessment

Local police

Border enforcement (inc.

border police, customs

police and immigration

officers)

Iraqi National Guard (ING)

(formerly ICDC)

Authorised numbers

pre‑Aug 2004509

90,000

16,276

45 battalions

6 brigade HQs

Aug 2004 stated

requirement

135,000

32,000

65 battalions

21 brigade HQs

Percentage

increase

50%

97%

Approximately

50%

6 division HQs

566. Mr Mike Naworynsky, Mr Hoon’s Private Secretary, summarised the plan produced

by Lt Gen Petraeus in a minute to Mr Antony Phillipson, Private Secretary to Mr Blair,

on 20 August.510 Mr Naworynsky reported that it would take until mid‑2006 to achieve

the proposed staffing levels for the ISF and that further (financial) resources would be

needed. The development of the Iraqi police was identified as the “main effort”.

567. Mr Naworynsky wrote:

“The report shows that US thinking in this area remains very similar to our own with

the key theme of Iraqiisation running through the brief. Timelines given within the

briefing are broadly as we would expect across Iraq, and should be bettered in the

MND(SE) area.”

568. Mr Edward Chaplin, British Ambassador to Iraq from July 2004 to June 2005,

reported that a draft National Security Strategy for Iraq was discussed on 24 July by

deputies to members of MCNS.511 The Strategy was described as “a wide‑ranging

document, which aims to underpin for the next one to five years the development of

509 Minute Naworynsky to Phillipson, 20 August 2004, ‘Report from Lt Gen Petraeus, Multi‑National

Security Transition Command – Iraq (MNSTC‑I) on Developing the Iraqi Security Forces’.

510 Minute Naworynsky to Phillipson, 20 August 2004, ‘Report from Lt Gen Petraeus, Multi‑National

Security Transition Command – Iraq (MNSTC‑I) on Developing the Iraqi Security Forces’.

511 Telegram 61 Baghdad to FCO London, 26 July 2004, ‘Iraq: National Security Strategy’.

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