The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
245.
The paper set
out arguments for and against taking on an ORHA regional
office.
The
arguments in favour included:
•
the
opportunity to influence ORHA at the operational as well as policy
level; and
•
the
possibility of promoting an “exemplary” approach to the
relationship
between the
civil and military arms of the Coalition if the ORHA region
matched
the UK
AOR.
246.
The arguments
against were:
•
the
reputational risks associated with creating a region where the UK
had a
high
profile (“If the Coalition Provisional Authority ran into
difficulty … this would
impact on
the UK’s standing in Iraq to a greater degree than if we remained
a
(junior)
partner in ORHA without a clear regional
responsibility”);
•
limited
resources; and
•
if ORHA/the
US failed to provide resources for activities in the UK-led region,
the
UK could be
faced with the choice of finding resources itself or “being seen
to
fail in the
eyes of the local population and more widely”.
247.
Sir David
advised Mr Blair:
“I think
you will have to give firm direction. My own view is that we should
accept
the risks
and lead a regional office to cover area for which we have
military
248.
Mr Blair
chaired the Ad Hoc Meeting on Iraq on 17 April.147
249.
Ms Short
expressed reservations about suggestions that DFID should fund
the
extra staff
for ORHA.
250.
Mr Blair
concluded that ORHA:
“… was
important in getting Iraq back on its feet. We should have
influence inside
it. He was
sympathetic to the British taking a regional lead in the Office,
and wanted
the scoping
study completed quickly so that final decisions could be made on
our
participation.
On the proposal for an additional contribution to the Office
[ORHA],
work should
proceed quickly to identify posts and potential candidates. The
issue of
funding
should be addressed … before Ministers met on 24 April. There
should be
no
bureaucratic hold up in sorting out this priority.”
251.
Mr Rycroft
wrote to Mr McDonald later that day, confirming that it was
Mr Blair’s
view that
the UK should increase support for ORHA and that it should take
on
146
Manuscript
comment Manning to Prime Minister on Letter Drummond to Manning, 16
April 2003,
‘Iraq: Support
for ORHA Regional Office’, attaching Paper IPU, 16 April 2003,
‘Iraq: ORHA Regional
Offices’.
147
Minutes, 17
April 2003, ‘Ad Hoc Meeting on Iraq’.
48