The Report of the Iraq Inquiry

78. Two main factors appear to have contributed to the failure to meet the demand for

Arabic speakers in Iraq:

• the finite number of Arabic speakers in the FCO; and

• the absence of a mechanism for redeploying Arabic speakers from other FCO

jobs at short notice.

79. The Inquiry welcomes the steps taken by the FCO since 2010 to increase the

number of Arabic speaker positions at FCO posts in the Middle East and North Africa,

and Mr William Hague’s decision as Foreign Secretary to open a new FCO language

school in 2013 and to prioritise Arabic language training.

80. The Inquiry fully endorses Mr Hague’s view that expertise in a foreign language

makes UK diplomats:

“... vastly more effective at communicating the viewpoint of the United Kingdom.

And it is vital to understanding the political mood in different countries and to

spotting trends or anticipating crises.”26

81. There is little evidence, however, that the Government has considered how to

respond effectively to a sudden surge in demand for particular language skills, especially

where demand may be unforeseen.

Lessons

82. The Inquiry recognises that, since 2003, significant changes have been made to

the UK’s strategic and operational approach to reconstruction and stabilisation. Some

of those changes, including the establishment of a deployable UK civilian stand-by

capability, are the direct result of lessons learned from serious shortcomings in the

deployment of civilian personnel in post-conflict Iraq.

83. The lessons identified in this Section remain relevant to the UK’s evolving

approach to reconstruction and stabilisation.

84. Other lessons relating to the strategic role of civilians in post-conflict reconstruction

and stabilisation operations, the relationship between civilian and military deployments,

and the impact of the UK’s civilian-led programmes in Iraq are addressed in

Section 10.4.

85. The effectiveness of the UK civilian effort in post-conflict Iraq was compromised by

a range of factors, including the absence of effective cross-government co-ordination on

risk, duty of care and the terms and conditions applicable to personnel serving in Iraq.

26 Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Rt Hon William Hague MP [from GOV.UK],

19 September 2013, Foreign Secretary opens Foreign Office language school.

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