The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
“We must
consider the situation in the context of what has just happened in
the
United
Nations. It could be ourselves and the Americans who have to pick
up the
pieces in
Iraq in the short to medium term.”480
1120.
Lord Elton
(Conservative) described the ‘Vision for Iraq and the Iraqi
People’
issued at
the Azores Summit as “aspirational rather than
inspirational”.481
He
asked
how the
Vision would be achieved:
“… what is
to be the cost, and under what government. It took the
Americans
12 years
to get out of Japan after the last world war, and it took us 50
years to unite
Germany. It
troubles me that so little has been thought and said on this matter
until
so late in
the programme …
“… [W]e
have to remember with compassion the people of Iraq who suffered
horrors
under
tyranny. We must ensure that they do not suffer horrors after a war
due to
munitions
left behind or through internecine strife …”
1121.
Daily
meetings of the “War Cabinet” began on 19 March.
1122.
Proposals
for the creation of a wider Ministerial group covering
post-conflict
issues were
kept under review.
1123.
The first Ad
Hoc Meeting on Iraq, also known as the “War Cabinet”, took
place
at 8.30am
on 19 March.482
1124.
The Ad Hoc
Meeting took place daily from 19 March to 12 April, with the
exception
of Sundays
30 March and 6 April, and was chaired by Mr Blair. Attendees
included
Mr Straw,
Mr Hoon and Ms Short.
1125.
The remit of
the Ad Hoc Meeting was to “cover … military and other updates
and
the day’s
events”, and “to focus on longer term policy decisions”, although
the time for
that would
be limited and would need to be “rationed
carefully”.483
1126.
When Sir
Andrew Turnbull explained the new arrangements to
Mr Heywood,
he proposed
that:
“There
might also be a case for having a weekly meeting of DOP [the
Defence and
Overseas
Policy Committee] … perhaps convening just before Cabinet. This
would
provide an
opportunity for wider Ministerial involvement, including on day
after
issues.
I suggest that this is something that David Manning keeps
under review.”484
480
House of
Lords, Official
Report, 18 March
2003, column 157.
481
House of
Lords, Official
Report, 18 March
2003, columns 207-208.
482
Minutes, 19
March 2003, Ad Hoc Meeting on Iraq.
483
Minute
Drummond to Rycroft, 19 March 2003, ‘Iraq Ministerial
Meeting’.
484
Minute
Turnbull to Heywood, 18 March 2003, ‘Iraq’.
512