The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
54.
In early May
2002, the international effort to resolve the India/Pakistan crisis
was
the FCO’s
principal foreign policy concern and the major preoccupation for
Mr Straw,
Sir Michael
Jay, FCO Permanent Under Secretary (PUS), and Mr Peter
Ricketts,
FCO Political
Director.
55.
Lord Wilson
told the Inquiry:
“… The main
thing in April, May, into June … was India, Pakistan. Can I
impress
on this
Committee that was far more important than Iraq. The Middle East
Peace
Process was
far more important than Iraq … Iraq was not the major thing in
those
months. The
Queen Mother had died; Alastair Campbell was involved in a row
with
Black Rod;
street crime … There were all sorts of issues around which
engaged
attention.
“If you had
said to me ‘Where are we on Iraq?’ I would have said: ‘Things are
going
on, No.10
has started talking to Washington.’ But nothing
major.”27
56.
In
discussions with the US, Mr Straw and Sir David Manning
confirmed
Mr Blair’s
position that the UK would support the US if President Bush
decided
on military
action.
57.
In a
meeting with Dr Condoleezza Rice, President Bush’s National
Security
Advisor, on
17 May, Sir David set out what he described as the
conditions
“stipulated”
by Mr Blair.
58.
Mr Blair had a
meeting on Iraq with Mr Straw, Mr Hoon and Adm Boyce on 2
May
but there
is no record of the discussion.28
59.
Iraq was not
discussed at Cabinet that day.
60.
In a
discussion on 8 May, Mr Straw told Mr Colin Powell, the US
Secretary of State,
that Mr
Blair “had always taken the view that if in the end President Bush
decided on
military
action, the UK had a duty to support him”.29
Mr Straw
wrote that:
“… the
rhetoric (in the US) might get beyond what was possible. Powell
agreed this
was a
considerable danger. I had rather gathered that the more military
options were
considered,
the more, not less, difficult military action
appeared.”
61.
Mr Straw’s
minute was sent to Sir David Manning and Sir Christopher Meyer,
British
Ambassador
to the US.
27
Public
hearing, 25 January 2011, pages 60-61.
28
Internal
No.10 note prepared for Mr Blair’s appearance at the Butler
Inquiry.
29
Minute
Straw to PUS [FCO], 9 May 2002, ‘Powell/Straw Tete-a-Tete, 8 May
2002’.
14