The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
476.
On 16 October,
Sir Jeremy Greenstock told Mr Hilary Benn, the newly
appointed
International
Development Secretary, that Ambassador Bremer would not give up
the
Seven
Steps.270
In Sir
Jeremy’s opinion that was too inflexible.
477.
Mr Benn’s
Assistant Private Secretary reported to a senior DFID
official
Sir
Jeremy’s advice that:
“… the
international community was shouting for a proper Iraqi Government,
but this
will not
happen until there is a real election. In the interim, Bremer would
be content
for a front
Government without real power.”
478.
On 16 October,
resolution 1511 (2003) was adopted by the UN Security
Council.271
479.
The Security
Council re-stated that the CPA’s authority in Iraq “will cease when
an
internationally
recognized, representative government established by the people of
Iraq
is sworn in
and assumes the responsibilities of the Authority”.
480.
The resolution
confirmed that the GC and its ministers were the principal
bodies
of the
Iraqi Interim Administration, which embodied the sovereignty of
Iraq until a
representative
government was established which assumed the responsibilities of
the
CPA. It
declared that “the day when Iraqis govern themselves must come
quickly”.
481.
In operative
paragraph 13, the Security Council determined that “the provision
of
security
and stability is essential to the successful completion of the
political process …
and to the
ability of the United Nations to contribute effectively to that
process and the
implementation
of resolution 1483” and authorised “a multi-national force under
unified
command to
take all necessary measures to contribute to the maintenance of
security
and
stability in Iraq”.
482.
On 17 October,
Mr Llewellyn sent his preliminary views of the effect of
resolution
1511 on
“the pre-existing position of the UK in Iraq” to Ms
Adams.272
He
concluded that
the UK did
not cease to be an Occupying Power because resolution 1511
authorised the
presence of
a multi-national force, but that the resolution did define the
point at which
the
Occupation would come to an end as being “when an internationally
recognised,
representative
government established by the people of Iraq is sworn in and
assumes
the
responsibilities of the Authority”.
483.
Mr Llewellyn
wrote that the resolution required “a progressive diminution in
the
CPA’s
authority”, without defining a specific timetable in which that
should happen.
484.
A conference
seeking contributions to reform of the Iraqi Police Service was
held in
London on
20 October, and is covered in detail in Section 12.1.
270
Minute APS
[DFID] to Drummond, 17 October 2003, ‘Iraq: Meeting with Sir Jeremy
Greenstock’.
271
UN Security
Council resolution 1511 (2003).
272
Minute
Llewellyn to Adams, 17 October 2003, ‘Iraq: Security Council
Resolution 1511’.
286