The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
734.
Minutes of the
Iraq GCPP Strategy meeting on 3 August recorded that a draft
of
the GCPP
Strategy had been circulated but the final version still needed to
be “drawn
735.
The objectives
outlined in the GCPP Strategy for 2005/06 remained similar
to
those in
2004/05 but were re‑ordered and re‑worded to reflect their
“condensed scope”
and the
shift in prioritisation.679
They
were:
“•
Build the
capacity of the security sector to prevent and manage conflict,
with
special
emphasis on police and prisons.
•
Support
government and civil society institutions in preventing and
resolving
conflict.
•
Promote
good relations between groups inside Iraq.”
736.
It was
identified that the 2004/05 Strategy had “proved too ambitious in
the
worsening
security context” and therefore 2005/06 objectives had been
“narrowed
down” to
reflect the difficulties surrounding implementation. Some of the
SCA’s
recommendations
would not be taken forward at that time, such as the
recommendation
“for more
support to the ISF in favour of the IPS”. The Strategy stated that
the MOD had
a “large
budget” for that purpose. The recommendations of the SSR review had
been
accepted in
their entirety.
737.
On 24 March,
Mr Straw sent his first report to Mr Blair on the AHMGI,
which dealt
with the
first three meetings of the Group (described in more detail in
Section 9.3).680
On
the
political process Mr Straw wrote that messages to Iraqi
contacts had emphasised
“the
importance of getting good people into the key security related
Ministerial positions
(Defence
and Interior)” and of the “enormous damage that could be done to
efforts at
outreach by
a significant renewal of the de‑Ba’athification
drive”.
738.
On 28 April,
Prime Minister Designate Ibrahim al‑Ja’afari presented the majority
of
his Cabinet
to the Transitional National Assembly for
ratification.681
The new
Minister of
Interior
was Mr Bayan Jabr and the new post of Minister of State for
National Security
was given
to Mr Abdul Kareem Al‑Anizi. Dr Sadoun Dulaimi was
confirmed as the new
Minister of
Defence some days later.682
678
Minutes, 3
August 2005, Iraq GCPP Strategy meeting.
679
Paper,
[undated], ‘Iraq GCPP Strategy 05/06 Update’.
680
Minute
Straw to Prime Minister, 24 March 2005, ‘Iraq: Ad Hoc Ministerial
Meetings’.
681
eGram
3590/05 Baghdad to FCO London, 28 April 2005, ‘Iraq: New Cabinet
Ratified by the TNA’.
682
Telegram
4430 Baghdad to FCO London, 12 May 2005, ‘Iraq: Call on Minister of
Defence,
12 May 2005’.
220