The Report of the Iraq Inquiry

515.  In their second conversation at 8.30pm, following a conversation between Dr Blix

and Secretary Powell, Mr Straw and Secretary Powell considered a list of particular

issues which could be used to judge compliance.135 Those need not be specified

in the resolution but could include:

• the destruction of the Al Samoud 2 missiles;

• a push on interviews;

• control of road traffic;

• control of the Syrian pipeline; and

• legitimisation of existing No-Fly Zones and their potential extension to cover

all of Iraq.

516.  The bar would need to be set high enough to ensure that there really was

compliance. Dr Blix had suggested a deadline of 15 April, which Secretary Powell

said “would be difficult for the US”, though it fitted with the deadline Mr Blair had

“originally suggested”.

517.  Secretary Powell also suggested that there would be a presentational problem for

President Bush if Saddam complied, and that “He would be unhappy publicly, but almost

certainly relieved in private.”

European Council, 17 February 2003

518.  On behalf of the European Union, the Greek Presidency had delivered a demarche

to Iraq on 4 February stating that it was “deeply concerned” about the crisis and that time

was “running out”. It called on Iraq “fully, unconditionally and immediately” to comply with

all resolutions and to co-operate pro-actively with the inspectors. If Iraq did not comply,

it would “carry the responsibilities for all the consequences”.136

519.  Mr Blair wrote to Mr Simitis,137 other EU Heads of State and Government,

Mr Romano Prodi, the President of the European Commission, and Mr Javier Solana,

the Secretary General of the Council of the European Union, on 12 February, welcoming

the decision to call an extraordinary European Council on 17 February and proposing

that the 10 new EU Accession Partners and three candidate countries should also be

invited “given their interests”.138

135  Letter Straw to Manning, 17 February 2003, ‘Iraq: Second Telephone Conversation with Colin Powell,

16 February’.

136  European Commission, ‘Demarche by the Presidency on behalf of the EU regarding Iraq

(4 February 2003)’.

137  Greece held the Presidency of the European Council at that time.

138  Letter Blair to Simitis, 12 February 2003, [untitled].

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