3.1  |  Development of UK strategy and options, 9/11 to early January 2002

179.  Mr Blair gave President Bush a Note during their private meeting, which, under a

section on ‘International Initiatives’, referred to the need for a new UN resolution on Iraq

and a wider ‘WMD Agreement’.99

180.  The record of the meetings contains no information about discussions of Iraq.100

181.  The Government has confirmed that a telephone conversation between Mr Blair

and President Bush on 12 November did take place but it has been unable to find

a record of the conversation.101 Other papers indicate that the conversation focused

primarily on Afghanistan.

182.  In mid-November Mr Powell suggested that, after Afghanistan, the UK should

use its leverage to engage President Bush on an alternative strategy to deal with

the threat posed by terrorism, including the need to persuade the US to take the

Middle East Peace Process seriously.

183.  Mr Powell argued that only the removal of Saddam Hussein and a new

regime would deal with the risks from Iraq.

184.  Mr Powell envisaged that would be achieved by “proper backing” for the

internal opposition in Iraq, not the insertion of arms inspectors or bombing

Baghdad.

185.  On 15 November Mr Powell wrote to Mr Blair stating that:

“If we are successful in Afghanistan over the next few days and weeks there is a real

danger that we will part company with the Americans on what comes next. The right

wing of the Republican Party will want to carry on by bombing Iraq and Somalia.

[President] Bush’s natural tendency would be to support them unless presented

with an alternative. David [Manning] has commissioned some work by the FCO

on this, but I think it needs some lateral political thinking about what would provide

an attractive – and effective – alternative strategy.

“I think the first thing is to persuade the Americans that rather than repeating what

we have done in Afghanistan elsewhere we need to use the leverage that our

success in Afghanistan provides to achieve our aims elsewhere.”102

186.  On Iraq specifically, Mr Powell wrote:

“… I think we need a new policy for Iraq. I do not believe that a warmed over UN

Security Council resolution re-inserting arms inspectors and changing sanctions is

likely to cut any ice with the Americans let alone the Russians and French … I think

we need a completely fresh look at our policy starting from our objectives.”

99  Note [Blair], [7 November 2001], ‘Note’, attached to Letter Manning to Rice, 8 November 2001, [untitled].

100  Letter Manning to McDonald, 8 November 2001, ‘Prime Minister’s visit to Washington – 7 November’.

101  Email Cabinet Office [junior official] to Iraq Inquiry, 30 June 2014, [untitled].

102  Minute Powell to Prime Minister, 15 November 2001, ‘The War: What Comes Next?’

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