3.6 |
Development of UK strategy and options, November 2002 to January
2003
515.
As agreed
with Mr Powell on 19 December 2002, Lord Goldsmith handed
his
draft
advice on resolution 1441 to Mr Blair on 14
January.
516.
The draft
advice stated that a further decision by the Security Council
would
be required
to revive the authorisation to use force contained in resolution
678
(1990)
although that decision did not need be in the form of a further
resolution.
517.
Lord Goldsmith
also wrote that there would be no authorisation for
military
action in
the event of a veto by one of the P5.
518.
Lord Goldsmith’s
draft advice180
and No.10’s
response, including Mr Blair’s
statements
that military action would not be ruled out if a further resolution
in response
to an Iraqi
breach was vetoed, are addressed in Section 5.
At a press
conference on 14 January, Mr Annan stated:
“We are all
aware … of Council resolution 1441 (2002) and the legislative
climate
surrounding
the passage of that resolution. We will have to assume … that
the
members of
the Council acted in good faith; that the issue is disarmament
and
that they
will do whatever it takes to disarm; and that if the disarmament
were to
succeed and
we were to agree that Iraq has been stripped of its weapons of
mass
destruction,
then that should be the end of the story. If, on the other hand, it
were to
come out
that Iraq continues to defy, and that disarmament has not
happened … the
Council
will have to face up to its responsibilities and take the necessary
action. But,
of course,
this is the understanding and the spirit of the resolution, which I
hope we
519.
During PMQs on
15 January Mr Blair answered a number of questions on
Iraq.182
520.
Mr Alan
Beith (Liberal Democrat) asked what would happen if the
inspectors
reported on
27 January that they needed more time to complete their work,
and
whether a
statement made by Mr Blair’s official spokesman that the
inspectors would
be given
the time and space they needed reflected President Bush’s view.
Mr Blair
initially
referred to remarks made in his press conference on 13 January,
including
that
he was not going to speculate on “arbitrary timetables”,
and to remarks made by
Mr Annan
on 14 January that, if Iraq continued to defy the UN and
disarmament hadn’t
happened,
the Security Council would have to “face up to its responsibilities
and take
the
necessary action”.
180
Minute
[Draft] [Goldsmith to Prime Minister], 14 January 2003, ‘Iraq:
Interpretation of Resolution 1441’.
181
UN News
Centre, 14
January 2003, Secretary‑General’s
press conference.
182
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 15
January 2003, columns 673‑682.
93