10.1 |
Reconstruction: March 2003 to June 2004
815.
The Inquiry
considers and refers to the IRFFI in terms of its two component
parts –
the World
Bank Trust Fund and the UN Trust Fund.
816.
The Annotated
Agenda for the 6 November meeting of the AHMGIR reported
that
the
Conference had been “more successful than first imagined”, not
least because of the
“political
commitment” shown by the international community.453
The JNA and
increased
certainty
over the scale of resources available for reconstruction would
enable DFID to
begin
drafting a Country Assistance Plan.
817.
Sir Nicholas
Macpherson told the Inquiry that the Conference was “probably
the
key
milestone in financing the reconstruction effort” and had
“galvanised international
support for
reconstruction”.454
818.
Mr Jim
Drummond, DFID Director Iraq from September 2003 to December
2004,455
identified
the Conference as one of DFID’s successes in the CPA
period:
“I think we
[DFID] had helped to galvanise the international donor
community
to
contribute in Madrid. I think that
was quite a
success. Delivering after Madrid
became more
of a challenge because of security, but in terms of bringing
the
international
community back together after what had been a fairly
controversial
phase, then
Madrid was a good point.”456
819.
Mr Drummond
also told the Inquiry that the proportion of the Madrid pledges
to
reach Iraq
“varied quite a lot from country to country. With a lot of
countries finding
it – because
they didn’t have the capacity to spend – difficult to
deliver.”457
820.
Section 9.2
describes:
•
the growing
insurgency from October 2003 in Baghdad and the Sunni Triangle;
and
•
the
increasing US and UK concerns that Ambassador Bremer’s Seven Step
Plan
for the
restoration of Iraqi sovereignty would not lead to credible
elections on the
basis of a
legitimate constitution sufficiently quickly to retain the consent
of the
Iraqi
people.
821.
Baroness Amos
was appointed Leader of the House of Lords on 6
October.
Mr Benn
succeeded her as International Development Secretary.
453 Annotated
Agenda, 6 November 2003, Ad Hoc Group on Iraq Rehabilitation
meeting.
454
Statement,
15 January 2010, page 4.
455
Mr Drummond
had previously been Assistant Head of OD Sec in the Cabinet
Office.
456
Public
hearing, 17 December 2009, page 31.
457
Public
hearing, 17 December 2009, pages 33-34.
141