6.5 |
Planning and preparation for a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, January to
March 2003
day after
planning. Although there was nothing in the UK draft that “could
not be squared
with US
policy” as set out in President Bush’s speech, “elements … go
further than the
US has so
far done in public or, on some issues including UN involvement, in
private”.
719.
The FCO sent
No.10 the latest draft of the ‘Vision’, which had been seen
by
officials
in the MOD, Cabinet Office, Treasury and DFID, explaining that work
was
in hand to
ensure coherence with military campaign objectives already agreed
by
720.
The new
version expanded the criticism of Saddam Hussein, added a
reference
to the
military consequences should he refuse to co-operate with the UN
and inserted
two
references to “democratic government” in place of the previous
version’s single
reference
to “democratic principles”.
721.
The new
description of overall aims explained that:
“Our aim is
to disarm Saddam of his weapons of mass destruction, which
threaten
his
neighbours and his people. Our presence in Iraq if military action
is required
to secure
compliance with UN resolutions will be temporary. But our
commitment
to support
the people of Iraq will be for the long term. The Iraqi people
deserve
to be
lifted from tyranny and allowed to determine the future of their
country for
themselves.
We pledge to work with the international community to help the
Iraqi
people
restore their country to its proper dignity and place in the
community of
nations,
abiding by its international obligations and free from UN
sanctions.”
722.
The five
principal aims remained unchanged from the October
paper:
•
“Freedom”;
•
“Good
Government”;
•
“International
Respect”;
•
“Peace”;
•
“Prosperity”.
723.
The list of
ways in which the UK/Coalition would help was also largely
unchanged,
offering
support with:
•
an early
end to sanctions;
•
Iraq’s
reintegration into the region;
•
generous
debt rescheduling;
•
increased
aid from the international community;
•
an
international reconstruction programme;
•
investment
in Iraq’s oil industry;
315
Letter Owen
to Rycroft, 28 February 2003, ‘A Vision for Iraq and the Iraqi
People’ attaching Paper
[unattributed
and undated], ‘A Vision for Iraq and the Iraqi
People’.
441