9.1 | March to 22 May 2003

General Franks’ 16 April message referred to a new body, the Coalition Provisional

Authority (CPA).165

Sir Jeremy Greenstock told the Inquiry that:

“London was not, in my view, although there was a lot of activity, sufficiently

consulted on the setting of missions, on the change from ORHA to the CPA, from

Garner to Bremer, on the early decrees, and on the setting of resources for the

whole task.”166

Hints that an organisation change was being considered emerged from the US from

March 2003 onwards.

On 27 March, Mr Brenton had reported plans being drawn up in the US Department

of Defense to restructure ORHA.167

A month later, Secretary Powell told Mr Straw that the US was planning to appoint a

former Ambassador to be deployed “between Franks and Khalilzad/Garner”.168

On 2 May, Mr Rycroft told Mr Blair that “A State Department Ambassador, Bremmer [sic],

is due to take over from Jay Garner”.169

Mr Straw met Mr Richard Armitage, US Deputy Secretary of State, on 6 May, who

confirmed that Ambassador Bremer’s appointment would be announced that day and

that he would “work to Rumsfeld”.170

On 6 May, President Bush announced the appointment of Ambassador L Paul Bremer

as Presidential Envoy to Iraq and head of the CPA.171

Ambassador Bremer told the Inquiry:

“The Secretary of Defense appointed me Administrator. His letter stated that in that

position I was to exercise all executive, legislative and judicial authority over the

government of Iraq. I was given to understand that these authorities derived from the

Coalition’s status as an ‘Occupying Power’ under international law, as recognized in

the relevant UN Security Council resolution”172

Ambassador Bremer arrived in Iraq on 12 May.

165 Statement Franks, 16 April 2003, ‘Freedom Message to the Iraqi People’.

166 Public hearing, 15 December 2009, page 98.

167 Telegram 395 Washington to FCO London, 27 March 2003, ‘Iraq: Post conflict: ORHA restructuring’.

168 Letter McDonald to Manning, 25 April 2003, ‘Foreign Secretary’s Conversation with Colin Powell,

25 April’.

169 Minute Rycroft to Prime Minister, 2 May 2003, ‘Iraq: ORHA’.

170 Letter Sinclair to Manning, 7 May 2003, ‘Foreign Secretary’s Meeting with US Deputy Secretary

of State, 6 May’.

171 Bowen SW Jr. Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience. U.S. Government Printing

Office, 2009.

172 Statement Bremer, 18 May 2010, page 2.

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