The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
522.
The following
day Mr Chaplin set out his views in a note to Mr Gray:
“In the
aftermath of military action … we would have a particular
responsibility to
help hold
the ring while a new government emerged … eg facilitating
humanitarian
relief,
assuring minimum functioning of utilities and so on. But … unless
the military
campaign
has been extremely destructive, civilian ministries should be able
to
resume work
fairly quickly.
“… The job
of the Coalition will then be to ensure stability, to allow a
nation-building
process of
eg: a representative assembly; appointment of a provisional
government;
drawing up
a new constitution; elections; formation of a new
government.
“This
process could take 6 to 9 months. Apart from providing security
and
humanitarian
assistance, we may be in the business of providing technical
help
(eg reconstruction
planning; constitution drafting). We will also have a role
in
preventing
interference from neighbours, especially Iran.”288
523.
Mr Richard
Stagg, FCO Director Public Diplomacy, raised with Mr Chaplin
his
“concern
about the need to have greater clarity about our long-term vision
for the Middle
East
post-Saddam, if we are to convince people that military conflict is
the best available
“We will
make little or no headway with Arab opinion if our apparent goal is
to install
a pro-US
puppet regime in Baghdad. We need an outcome which is not a
victory
for the US
… but a victory for the region – by delivering benefits across the
board in
terms of
stability and prosperity.
…
“I am not
suggesting that we should be in a position now to say which
individuals or
parties
will rule Iraq after Saddam, nor on what basis. But I think it
would be helpful
to have
considerably greater clarity about:
(a) how we
will go about establishing a future government in
Iraq;
(b) how we
will manage problems flowing from a more democratic system
…;
(c) what
sort of international presence we expect to remain in Iraq after
a
conflict
(is there any chance of giving a major role to the
UN?);
(d) what
does this all mean for neighbouring countries …;
(e) who
will control, and benefit from, Iraq’s oil wealth;
288
Minute
Chaplin to Gray, 13 September 2002, ‘Iraq: Post-Saddam
Issues’.
289
Minute
Stagg to Chaplin, 13 September 2002, ‘Iraq: Winning the War of
Words’.
200