9.2 | 23
May 2003 to June 2004
197.
The
Constitutional Convention had been postponed, and instead a
Preparatory
Commission
on the Constitution would be created, to advise on how the
Constitutional
Convention
should be established.
198.
During the
meeting of the AHMGIR, officials from the FCO added that it was
hoped
the
Constitution would be completed by May 2004 and that elections
would then follow.78
199.
Mr Hoon
reported to the meeting on the video conference that had taken
place
earlier in
the day, observing that the US was becoming concerned that Saddam
Hussein
had not yet
been captured.
200.
Gen Walker,
who had also taken part in the video conference, observed that
“the
US appeared
to have no clear plan for security in the centre”.
201.
In discussion,
the (unattributed) point was made that “there was no need,
at
present, to
increase UK forces”. The Chair of the meeting, Mr Hoon, summed
up the
discussion
stating “real improvements [in security] would depend in part on
progress on
political
reform and reconstruction”.
202.
A telegram
from Mr Sawers on 3 July containing points to follow up after
the video
conference
with President Bush said:
“It didn’t
come up today, but our forces in the South are thinly stretched. I
discussed
this with
the Foreign Secretary yesterday. 3 Div will be responsible for the
four
Southern
provinces, as opposed to the two covered by 1 Div. We will have
less than
10,000
troops to cover Basra and Maysan and provide a reserve for any
problems in
the other
two provinces …
“It is not
for me to recommend how many forces we need for our mission. But
I
expect the
task facing our forces to get more difficult over the summer … Seen
from
here, we
would be better off putting extra capability in place now than
rather than
risking
being exposed by events.”79
203.
Sir David
Manning marked the telegram for Mr Blair to see, and wrote
“Reinforces
my worries
about troop numbers” on the document. Mr Blair replied “Can’t
we leave
10,000 in +
at least bolster with foreign troops”.
204.
A telegram
from the IPU in London to Mr Sawers in Baghdad on 7 July
stated
“we are
pleased with the progress on the Governing Council … and continue
to attach
importance
to a clearly articulated vision statement and a calendar against
which Iraqis
and the
international community can judge us”.80
78
Minutes, 3
July 2003, Ad Hoc Group on Iraq Rehabilitation
meeting.
79
Telegram 64
Sawers to FCO London, 3 July 2003, ‘Personal: Iraq: Follow up to
the Bush/Blair VTC’,
including
Manuscript Comments Manning and Blair.
80
Telegram
27, FCO London to IraqRep, 7 July 2003, ‘Iraq:
Priorities’.
237