6.5 |
Planning and preparation for a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, January to
March 2003
“Rebuilding
Iraq will require a sustained commitment from many nations,
including
our own: we
will remain in Iraq as long as necessary, and not a day more.
America
has made
and kept this kind of commitment before – in the peace that
followed a
world war
…
“There was
a time when many said that the cultures of Japan and Germany
were
incapable
of sustaining democratic values … Some say the same of Iraq
today.
They are
mistaken. The nation of Iraq – with its proud heritage, abundant
resources
and skilled
and educated people – is fully capable of moving toward democracy
and
703.
UK oil
firms had begun to express concern about access to
post-Saddam
Hussein oil
contracts in the second half of 2002 (see Section
6.4).
704.
By 27
February, officials were concerned that UK reticence in contacts
with
the US was
disadvantaging UK firms across a range of business
sectors.
705.
In early 2003,
UK companies in other sectors approached Trade Partners
UK
(TPUK), the
division of British Trade International (BTI) responsible for
promoting
UK exports,
for advice on business opportunities in post-conflict
Iraq.309
A number
of
companies
expressed concern about a repeat of the situation in 1991, when UK
firms
lost out
heavily to US companies on reconstruction contracts in
Kuwait.
706.
On 12 February
Mr Bill Henderson, TPUK Director International Group 1,
explained
to Baroness
Symons, joint FCO/DTI Minister of State for International Trade
and
Investment,
that, until early February 2003, UK Government discussion of
commercial
opportunities
in Iraq had largely been restricted to officials in order “to avoid
giving
undue
prominence to the commercial aspects of HMG’s handling of the
crisis”.310
707.
Mr Henderson
reported that, on 12 February, he had chaired a meeting
with
the FCO,
the Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) and, for the first
time, a
representative
of the British Consultants and Contractors Bureau (BCCB) to
discuss
how best to
provide assistance to UK companies outside the oil and gas
sector.
Mr Henderson
expressed concern that “the overall Whitehall agenda appears to
attach
little
importance to the commercial aspects and the interest of UK
companies”.
708.
The need to
secure “a level-playing field for UK business in oil and other
areas”
was one of
the key messages for the US on post-conflict Iraq, agreed on 11
February.
709.
On 27
February, Mr Henderson remained concerned that UK reticence
was
disadvantaging
UK companies: “the US (and probably France who have a Trade
Office
308
The
Guardian, 27
February, Full text:
George Bush’s speech to the American Enterprise
Institute.
309
Minute
Henderson to Symons, 12 February 2003, ‘Iraq:
post-conflict commercial issues’.
310
Minute
Henderson to Symons, 12 February 2003, ‘Iraq: post-conflict
commercial issues’.
439