The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
61.
OD Sec chaired
the cross-Whitehall Ad Hoc Group on Iraq (AHGI), which met for
the
first time
on 20 September 2002.47
The AHGI
was the principal Whitehall co-ordination
mechanism
for non-military Iraq planning until the creation of the
inter-departmental
IPU in
February 2003.
62.
The origin and
purpose of the AHGI are addressed in greater detail later
in
this Section.
63.
The MOD
participated in the AHGI but its own post-conflict military
planning was
not part
of the AHGI process.
64.
Within DFID
the Iraq Team in Middle East and North Africa Department
included
advisers
with expertise on conflict, humanitarian assistance, governance,
infrastructure,
economics
and social development who provided analysis to inform
decisions.48
The
DFID Iraq
Team worked closely with the FCO and drew on the FCO’s
Iraq-related
research
and analysis.
65.
Advisers were
drawn from the relevant DFID professional cadres with
consultants
brought in
to provide advice on specific issues and projects where
required.
66.
In addition,
DFID’s Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs Department (CHAD)
provided
specific
policy and operational advice on Iraq.
67.
DFID’s August
2002 review of northern Iraq drew on a combination of DFID
papers
and
consultations with UN agencies, non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) and
western
European donor countries.49
68.
The DFID
desktop analysis of central and southern Iraq, completed in
October
2002, was
produced without consulting the UN, NGOs or bilateral partners
because
of
restrictions on external contacts by DFID officials, but did draw
widely on external
(including
UN) publications.50
47
Minute
Drummond to Manning, 23 September 2002, ‘Ad Hoc Group on
Iraq’.
48
Email DFID
to Iraq Inquiry Secretariat, 19 June 2013, ‘Iraq Inquiry new
queries’.
49
Minute CHAD
Operations Team [junior official] to [DFID junior official], 8
August 2002, ‘Northern Iraq
Desktop
Review and Background Briefing Document’ attaching Paper Conflict
and Humanitarian Affairs
Department,
July 2002, ‘Northern Iraq Desktop Review and Background Briefing
Document’.
50
Email DFID
[junior official] to Fernie, 17 October 2002, ‘CSI analysis’
attaching Paper Conflict and
Humanitarian
Affairs Department, October 2002, ‘Central/southern Iraq
humanitarian situation analysis’.
124