8 | The
invasion
707.
Overnight on
1/2 May, the UK military AO was adjusted to be coterminous with
the
boundaries
of Basra and Maysan provinces.398
708.
On 2 May,
Mr Rycroft gave Mr Blair a set of papers on the UK
contribution to
ORHA (see
Section 10.1).399
None
addressed the issue of coterminous boundaries for
the UK
military AOR and ORHA’s southern region.
709.
The Inquiry
has seen no indication that Mr Blair subsequently raised the
issue.
710.
During May,
ORHA was subsumed into the Coalition Provisional Authority
(CPA)
(see
Sections 9.1 and 10.1).
711.
Resolution
1483 confirming the UN’s role in post-conflict Iraq was
adopted
on 22
May.
712.
On 14 June,
Ministers “noted” that it had been decided that the UK AO
would
expand to
four provinces at the end of July and that substantial Italian and
Dutch
military
forces were expected to have deployed to the South by
mid-July.
713.
The Inquiry
has seen no indication of when the decision on the
expansion
of the
UK AO had been taken or by whom.
714.
United Nations
Security Council resolution 1483 (2003) was adopted on 22
May.400
715.
The
resolution, described in more detail in Section 9.1, confirmed that
there
would be a
role for the UN, exercised through a Special Representative to
the
Secretary‑General,
but made it clear that the UN would not have the lead
responsibility
for the
administration and reconstruction of Iraq, which would fall to the
CPA. The
resolution
also called for help in the reform, rebuilding, stabilisation and
security of Iraq,
including
from international financial institutions.
716.
An internal
PJHQ briefing on 12 June reported that there was “a trend
of
intelligence
reporting from the UK AOR showing increasing dissatisfaction of the
civil
populace”.401
The
briefing attributed the deterioration in the relationship between
UK
forces and
the local population to a lack of food, failure to ensure essential
services
“such as
water, electricity and security”, a general increase in
anti-Coalition rhetoric from
Shia
clerics, a lack of accurate information/news reporting and a lack
of progress in the
political
process.
398
Letter
Burridge to CJO, 8 May 2003, ‘NCC Op TELIC Hauldown
Report’.
399
Minute
Rycroft to Prime Minister, 2 May 2003, ‘Iraq: ORHA’.
400
UN Press
Release, 22 May 2003, Security
Council lifts sanctions on Iraq, approves UN role,
calls
for appointment
of Secretary-General’s Special Representative (SC/7765).
401
Minute
DACOS J3(Ops Sp) and DACOS J2(Int) to MA/DCJO(Ops), 12 June 2003,
‘Relations with
the Basrah
Population’.
125