The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
376.
The draft
circulated by Mr Bowen on 11 February stated:
“The UK’s
overall objective for the military campaign is to create
the
conditions
in which Iraq disarms in accordance with its obligations
under
UNSCRs and
remains so disarmed in the long term.”179
377.
The
Coalition’s main tasks in support of that objective were
to:
“a.
overcome the resistance of the Iraqi security forces;
b. deny the
Iraqi regime the use of weapons of mass destruction now and in
the
future;
c. remove
the Iraqi regime, given its clear and unyielding refusal to comply
with
the UN
Security Council’s demands;
d. identify
and secure the sites where weapons of mass destruction and
their
means of
delivery are located;
e. secure
essential economic infrastructure, including for utilities and
transport,
from
sabotage and wilful destruction by Iraqis; and
f. deter
wider conflict both inside Iraq and the region.”
378.
The UK’s wider
political objectives in support of the military campaign were
to:
“a.
demonstrate to the Iraqi people that our quarrel is not with them
and that their
security
and well-being is our concern;
b. work
with the United Nations to lift sanctions affecting the supply of
humanitarian
and
reconstruction goods, and to enable Iraq’s own resources, including
oil, to
be
available to meet the needs of the Iraqi people;
c. sustain
the widest possible international and regional coalition in support
of
military
action;
d. preserve
wider regional security, including by maintaining the territorial
integrity
of Iraq and
mitigating the humanitarian and other consequences of conflict
for
Iraq’s
neighbours;
e. help
create conditions for a future, stable and law-abiding government
of Iraqis;
f. further
our policy of eliminating terrorism as a force in international
affairs.”
179
Minute
Bowen to Manning, 11 February 2003, ‘Iraq: Military Campaign
Objectives’ attaching
Paper Cabinet
Office, February 2003, ‘Iraq: Military Campaign
Objectives’.
374