6.1 |
Development of the military options for an invasion of
Iraq
204.
The Strategic
Planning Group (SPG), a planning team working for
Lt Gen Pigott,
supported
the Pigott Group.
205.
Lieutenant
General Sir James Dutton, Adm Boyce’s liaison officer to the
Chairman
of the US
Joint Chiefs of Staff until the middle of March 2002 and
subsequently head
of the SPG
until taking up his appointment as Commander, 3 Commando Brigade
in
July 2002,
told the Inquiry that, in view of his recent experience in
Washington as CDS’s
liaison
officer, he had been asked to lead the team, reporting weekly to
Lt Gen Pigott.105
206.
Lt Gen Dutton
said that the work was best described as “prudent
military
contingency
planning on what we might be able to do if there were a political
directive
to do
so”. Force packages were not yet being discussed:
“If there
were to be a political decision made to do something in Iraq, what
might
the
Americans do, what might we be able to do … if that decision were
made and
… how would
the various bits of Whitehall contribute to that and what might be
the
longer‑term
aim. So it was very much conceptual thinking …”
207.
The MOD
advised Mr Hoon in early May that the US had decided to
pursue
regime
change. The question was when. The MOD thought it could be at “the
turn
of the
year”.
208.
The US was
likely to continue to hold the UK military at arm’s length
until
options had
been considered by President Bush.
209.
Lt Gen Pigott
identified two key issues which would need to be
addressed:
the impact
of the potential courses of action and the contribution the
UK
might make.
210.
Gen Franks
visited the UK as part of a wider overseas visit in late April
2002.
211.
Mr Hoon’s
diary indicates that he met Gen Franks at RAF Brize Norton
on
212.
The MOD has
not been able to locate any record of the
discussion.107
213.
The discussion
on Iraq at the Chiefs of Staff meeting attended by Gen Franks
and
Air Marshal
Brian Burridge, Deputy Commander in Chief Strike Command, on 26
April
was
recorded separately and circulated on very limited
distribution.108
105
Public
hearing, 12 July 2010, pages 4‑5.
106
Diary, SofS
[MOD], 25 April 2002.
107
Letter MOD
Iraq Inquiry Unit to Iraq Inquiry Secretariat, 23 May 2012,
[untitled].
108
Minute
SECCOS to PS/SofS [MOD] and others, 30 April 2002, ‘Record of
CINCCENTCOM meeting
with COS –
26 April 2002’.
207