The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
323.
On 1 May,
after consultations between Mr Straw and Mr Per Stig
Møller, the
Danish
Foreign Minister,181
the Danish
Government announced the appointment of
Mr Ole
Olsen, Danish Ambassador to Syria, as Head of ORHA(South) for a
term of
324.
The Inquiry
has seen no record of those consultations. The Cabinet Office
update
for
Ministers on 1 May stated only that the Danes had been told the UK
was “happy that
their
candidate (Ole Olsen) should lead the office”.183
325.
Overnight on
1/2 May, the UK military’s AO was adjusted to be coterminous
with
the
boundaries of Basra and Maysan Provinces.184
326.
On 2 May,
Secretary Rumsfeld and Mr Hoon met at Heathrow, before the
Defense
Secretary
flew back to the US.185
Mr Hoon
stressed the necessity for ORHA to make
tangible
progress. Secretary Rumsfeld was reported to have:
“… played
down expectations somewhat, and cautioned against waiting for
a
fully
formed organisation with a large pot of money. We should keep
going
pragmatically
and keep scratching round for contributions where they were
available.
This could
be done by the UK in their own area. Imposing order within the
country
would take
time; it would take effort to get the ministries up and running and
the
people back
to work.”
327.
On 2 May,
Mr Straw’s Private Secretary wrote to Mr Rycroft to
propose that
Mr John
Sawers, then British Ambassador to Egypt, should be appointed as
the
Prime
Minister’s Special Representative on Iraq to “take the lead for the
UK in guiding
the
political processes leading to the establishment of an Iraqi
Interim Authority”.186
Mr Sawers’
appointment is addressed in Section 9.1.
328.
On 2 May, Ms
Anna Bewes, Ms Short’s Principal Private Secretary, sent
Mr Rycroft
an “Interim
DFID Strategy” for the next three to six months as Iraq
transitioned from
“relief/recovery
to reconstruction”.187
329.
Ms Bewes
advised that, while the strategy covered “tasks that principally
fall to
DFID”,
there were “strong inter-linkages” with diplomatic and military
activity. She stated
181
Minute
Crompton to PS [FCO], 27 June 2003, ‘Iraq: Ambassador
Olsen’.
182
BBC
News, 1 May
2003, Dane to run
southern Iraq.
183
Letter
Drummond to Owen, 1 May 2003, ‘Iraq: Report to Ministers’ attaching
Paper Cabinet Office,
1 May 2003,
‘Iraq: Update for Ministers’.
184
Report
Burridge to CJO, 8 May 2003, ‘NCC Op TELIC Hauldown
Report’.
185
Minute
Williams to Policy Director [MOD], [undated], ‘Visit of the US
Secretary of Defense – 2 May
2003’.
186
Letter Owen
to Rycroft, 2 May 2003, ‘Iraq: Appointment of a Special
Representative’.
187
Letter
Bewes to Rycroft, 2 May 2003, ‘Iraq Rehabilitation’ attaching Paper
DFID, [undated],
‘Iraq:
Interim DFID Strategy’.
60