The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
“… we have
proposed to the Defence Secretary we take forward rapidly two
distinct
pieces of
work, one on military contingency
planning … and the
other on coalition
options
which will
need to factor in legal considerations. Rather than submitting
our
Ministers’
conclusions to the Attorney General for his approval, we should
prefer the
usual
approach of his putting advice to colleagues as part of a
collective decision.”116
229.
The letter was
sent to Lt Gen Pigott, Sir David Manning and
SIS.
230.
By mid‑May,
the perception that the UK might provide an armoured
division
for
military operations had already gained currency in the
US.
231.
There is no
evidence that such a suggestion had been authorised.
232.
In the
absence of an agreed avenue for dialogue between the US and
UK
and the
sensitivities about the issue on both sides of the Atlantic in the
spring of
2002,
informal conversations between the US and UK military and between
civilian
officials
to explore each other’s positions to inform thinking and the
development
of advice
to Ministers were unavoidable.
233.
Mr Webb
visited Washington in mid‑May and discussed draft objectives for
a
military
operation with US officials (see Section 3.3).117
234.
Mr Webb
explained the UK military timelines as:
“… 7 to 9
months for a major contribution of division minus plus air wing
etc, shorter
for a
smaller package. If they [the US] wanted UK participation this
would have to be
factored
in.”
235.
Mr Webb
also reported his impression that momentum in Washington “had
flagged”
since his
last substantive discussions in February.
236.
In the context
of those discussions, Mr Webb told the Inquiry:
“… once you
get into the level of military planning, it doesn’t make a big
difference
whether
your policy is to remove WMD, and that means Saddam has to go,
or
whether you
are going to change the regime and take the opportunity to
remove
WMD …
[I]t’s very important in legal and policy terms …”118
237.
In preparation
for Sir David Manning’s visit to Washington,
Sir Christopher Meyer
sent a
personal letter to Sir David on 15 May.119
116
Letter Webb
to Ricketts, 10 May 2002, [untitled].
117
Letter Webb
to Ricketts, 16 May 2002, ‘Iraq: Objectives’.
118
Private
hearing, 23 June 2010, page 16.
119
Letter
Meyer to Manning, 15 May 2002, ‘Your Visit to
Washington’.
210