The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
4.
The US and
UK were in agreement about the objective of securing a
UN
resolution
demanding that Iraq should permit the immediate and
unconditional
return of
weapons inspectors and setting out the consequences of
non‑compliance.
5.
At the
beginning of the negotiations, however, there were
significant
differences
between the US and the UK about the detailed content of a
UN
resolution
and the approach to negotiations with China, France and
Russia,
the other
Permanent Members, and with the wider Security
Council.
6.
The debate
between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and No.10
on
the
objectives and terms for a new Security Council resolution on Iraq,
between the end
of July and
President Bush’s speech to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly
on
12
September, are addressed in Section 3.4.
7.
Initial
discussion within the UK, and between the UK and US, about the
terms
of a draft
resolution revolved around seven key issues:
•
the need
for a UN determination that Iraq was in material breach of
its
obligations;
•
whether the
demands for Iraq to comply should be limited to WMD (weapons
of
mass
destruction) or address Iraq’s wider failures to meet the
obligations specified
in UN
resolutions since 1991;
•
the nature
of the ultimatum to Iraq on WMD and whether that should demand
an
immediate
Iraqi declaration of its WMD holdings, and/or the return of
weapons
inspectors;
•
whether to
seek more intrusive and quicker inspections than those
specified
in resolution
1284 (1999);
•
whether to
seek explicit agreement to the use of “all necessary means”
in
the event
of Iraqi non‑compliance, which would provide explicit authority
for
military action;
•
when the UN
route would be deemed exhausted and the role of the
Security
Council in
determining the seriousness of any reported Iraqi breach and
in
authorising
the use of force; and
•
whether to
seek one resolution which met all the objectives or to adopt a
two
stage
approach.
8.
Resolution
1284 establishing the UN Monitoring, Verification and
Inspection
Commission
(UNMOVIC), to replace the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM),
was
adopted on
17 December 1999, with China, France, Russia and Malaysia all
abstaining.1
1
UN Security
Council resolution 1284 (1999).
200