3.7 |
Development of UK strategy and options, 1 February to 7 March
2003
•
There had
been “sharp differences of view” in the debate in
Parliament
on 26 February,
the tone was not “unpleasant, but the issues were
difficult,
and views
could still be swayed”. The commitment to a further debate
had
been “wise”.
815.
Mr Blair
said that he would continue to push for a further Security
Council
resolution.
President Bush’s commitments the previous day in respect of the
MEPP were
“helpful”.
Looking beyond the current divisions in the international community
it would
be
“important to seek unity of purpose through the humanitarian and
reconstruction
work which
would follow any military action”. Planning in this field “needed
to take centre
stage”. He
would pursue that with President Bush “in the coming days”. The
“transitional
civil
administration in Iraq should have a United Nations mandate,
although the scale
of United
Nations involvement should balance the administrative effectiveness
with
the necessity
for proper authority”.
816.
Mr Blair
described the debate in the UK and Parliament as
“open”:
“Feelings
were running high and the concerns expressed were genuine.
But
decisions
had to be made. The central arguments remained the threat
posed
by weapons
of mass destruction in the hands of Iraq; the brutal nature of the
Iraqi
regime; and
the importance of maintaining the authority of the UN in the
international
order.
Failure to achieve a further Security Council resolution would
reinforce the
hand of the
unilateralists in the American Administration.”
“At
Cabinet, things were pretty much rock solid … I could sense a few
of them only
fully
realising … the enormity of the decisions, the enormity of the
responsibility
involved.
Robin [Cook] was the trickiest … Clare [Short] was doing her usual
…
and for her
was relatively onside. She wanted to do a big number on
aftermath
preparations
but TB was there ahead of her. He was very calm, matter of fact,
just
went
through where we were on all the main aspects of this. Margaret
Beckett
[Secretary
of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] … made a very
strong
intervention.
She was a really useful barometer and she was very
supportive.
Nobody was
really looking to make TB’s position more difficult … with the
possible
818.
Mr Campbell
added that Mr Blair had:
“… said
later that he felt only now was [President] Bush really aware of
the full extent
of the
stakes here. This had the potential to transform for good America’s
relations
with Europe
and the rest of the world, and in a worst-case scenario was a
disaster
250
Campbell A
& Hagerty B. The
Alastair Campbell Diaries. Volume 4. The Burden of
Power:
Countdown to
Iraq. Hutchinson,
2012.
325