The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
419.
Ms Adams
responded on 6 February that Lord Goldsmith had agreed
that:
“Provided
the new resolution is linked back sufficiently to resolution 1441
so that it is
clear that
the Council has concluded that Iraq has failed to take the final
opportunity
granted by
resolution 1441, it should be possible to rely on the finding of
material
breach in
that resolution in order to revive the use of force in resolution
678.”163
420.
Addressing
draft text suggested by Mr Grainger, Ms Adams also recorded
that
Lord Goldsmith:
“… has some
doubts about the generality of the wording ‘Iraq has still not
complied’
because not
every incident of non-compliance will constitute a further
material
breach
under OP4 of resolution 1441 (see for example statements by the
Foreign
Secretary
to Parliament164).
Moreover, the Attorney recalls that Blix has indicated
that only
serious cases of non-compliance would be reported to the
Council
under OP11.”
421.
Ms Adams
suggested that a better minimalist version for a resolution would
be
one which:
“… stated
simply that the Council has concluded that Iraq has failed to take
the
final
opportunity offered by resolution 1441. This would indicate that
the finding of
material
breach in OP1 of resolution 1441 is no longer suspended, thus
reviving the
authorisation
to use force in resolution 678. In this case there would be no need
for
an
operative paragraph on ‘serious consequences’ because this would
follow from
the terms
of resolution 1441.”165
422.
Lord
Goldsmith’s discussions in Washington on 10 February confirmed
that
the US
position was that Iraq was in material breach of resolution 1441
and the
conditions
for the cease-fire were, therefore, no longer in
place.
423.
The US
maintained that the Security Council had already considered that
fact
as required
by OP12.
424.
The US
Administration attached importance to helping the UK find a way
to
join them
in action against Iraq.
425.
As discussed
with No.10, Lord Goldsmith travelled to Washington, accompanied
by
Ms Adams,
to meet leading US lawyers involved in the negotiation of
resolution 1441 on
10 February
2003.
163
Letter
Adams to Grainger, 6 February 2003, ‘Iraq: Second
Resolution’.
164
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 25
November 2002, column 51.
165
Letter
Adams to Grainger, 6 February 2003, ‘Iraq: Second
Resolution’.
76