9.2 | 23
May 2003 to June 2004
to be
the ‘head of the spear’ for Al Qaida, but there is some evidence
suggesting
that the Al
Qaida leadership is opposed to al-Zarqawi’s plans to cause
Muslim
785.
The Cabinet
Office Annotated Agenda for the meeting of the AHMGIR
on
26 February
observed that Mr Brahimi appeared to have resolved the problem
posed
by the
position of Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, and his plan was close to
what the UK had
786.
The Annotated
Agenda explained that the UN had not so far taken a firm view
on
the form of
the caretaker government, although it was willing to assist with
building Iraqi
consensus
on its power, structure and formation, as well as with advice and
assistance
on
electoral processes.
787.
Cabinet Office
officials wrote that the UK wanted the UN to engage as far
as
possible in
the run-up to transition and had an open mind as to structures for
the interim
government,
but felt they should provide:
•
a degree of
continuity between the pre- and post-transition
arrangements;
•
a clear
change to indicate that Occupation was over; and
•
greater
representation than the GC, to increase domestic legitimacy
and
draw in
others.
788.
This pointed
towards an expanded version of the GC, with a technocratic
Council
of
Ministers headed by a Prime Minister and a Presidency or Leadership
Council.
Cabinet
Office officials wrote that the US agreed in broad
terms.
789.
The Annotated
Agenda also recorded that “the UN’s growing role in the
political
process
make [sic] a new UNSCR almost inevitable”.
790.
The TAL was
agreed by the GC on 1 March.435
It described
a two-phase transition:
“(1) The
first phase shall begin with the formation of a fully sovereign
Iraqi Interim
Government
that takes power on 30 June 2004. This Government shall
be
constituted
in accordance with a process of extensive deliberations
and
consultations
with cross-sections of the Iraqi people conducted by the
Governing
Council and
the Coalition Provisional Authority and possibly in consultation
with
the United
Nations …
(2) The
second phase shall begin after the formation of the Iraqi
Transitional
Government,
which will take place after elections for the National
Assembly
have been
held … provided that, if possible, these elections are not
delayed
433
JIC
Assessment, 25 February 2004, ‘Iraq Security’.
434 Annotated
Agenda, 26 February 2004, Ad Hoc Group on Iraq Rehabilitation
meeting.
435
BBC
News, 1 March
2004, Iraq’s
draft Constitution hailed.
335