The Report of the Iraq Inquiry

• Environmental

“Do we have an environmental clean-up plan?”

35.  The annotated agenda referred to a number of background papers13 prepared over

the preceding months:

• ‘Scenarios for the future of Iraq post-Saddam’ (FCO, 11 October 2002);

• ‘Security Sector Reform’ (FCO, 10 December 2002);

• ‘International Administrations for Iraq, what, who and how?’ (FCO,

17 October 2002);

• ‘Interim Administrations in Iraq’ (FCO, 12 December 2002);

• ‘Bonn process’ (FCO, January 2003);14 and

• ‘Economic issues in Iraq after post-Saddam regime change’ (FCO,

October 2002).

36.  The annotated agenda made no reference to the UK’s specific responsibilities in

southern Iraq. Nor did it consider the possible contribution of different UK government

departments to the UK post-conflict effort.

37.  Mr Edward Chaplin, FCO Director Middle East and North Africa, commented to

Mr Straw: “After 22 January we will need to raise the level of exchanges with the US,

in order to reach agreement on these key issues.”15

38.  Mr Straw approved Mr Chilcott’s recommendations and reported that Secretary

Powell had told him the US working assumption was that the US and UK would be in

Iraq for a long time after military action.16

39.  The annotated agenda was shown in parallel to Mr Geoff Hoon, the Defence

Secretary, and Ms Clare Short, the International Development Secretary.

40.  Mr Stephen Pollard, Head of MOD Overseas Secretariat (Sec(O)), invited Mr Hoon

to note the intended scope of the meeting.17 Mr Pollard explained that, in the US:

“… much of the running is being made by CENTCOM, which has set up a large

military team to work up plans for Phase IV18 of the campaign. The MOD are well

plugged in to this through our PJHQ representatives at Tampa. But other issues will

need resolution at higher level, not least the legal authority for what will amount to

an army of occupation following any hostilities, and the extent to which the UN will

13 All but the paper on the Bonn process are described in Section 6.4.

14 Paper Hetherington, January 2003, ‘What would an Iraqi Bonn process look like?’.

15 Manuscript comment Chaplin, 17 January 2003, on Minute Chilcott to Private Secretary [FCO],

17 January 2003, ‘Iraq: Day-After Issues’.

16 Minute Sinclair to Chilcott, 20 January 2003, ‘Iraq: Day-After Issues’.

17 Minute Pollard to APS/Secretary of State [MOD], 17 January 2003, ‘Iraq: Phase 4’.

18 The military term for the post-conflict phase of military operations in Iraq.

316