9.2 | 23
May 2003 to June 2004
796.
One
(unidentified) member of the AHMGIR observed that:
“While a
goal rather than mandatory, the 25 percent figure for
women’s
representation
was a significant step forward in the Arab world.
Women’s
representation
was 30 percent in Denmark but less than 25 percent in the
UK.”
797.
In his account
of his time as Head of the CPA, Ambassador Bremer
describes
the TAL
as “the most remarkable document in Iraq’s long
history”.438
798.
Ambassador
Bremer told the Inquiry that the TAL “gave Iraq the political
structure
and
opportunity to remain a united, free and democratic
country”.439
799.
Sir David
Richmond told the Inquiry:
“It is not
clear to me really how much thought had been given to what would
be
the
consequences of … bringing democracy particularly to Iraq. It
shouldn’t have
been
impossible to work out that we were going to have problems … with a
built
in majority
… but if people had worked that out then I had no sense that
anybody
had done
anything … in the end we found solutions to that problem, but
within a
democratic
system it is actually quite difficult, but a straightforward first
past the
post winner
takes all is an extremely difficult situation to deal with. It
requires quite
a complex
constitutional political process. Checks, balances, power sharing.
We
began to
try to put some of that in place when we drafted the TAL, but the
reality is
we should
have been thinking about these issues right from the
beginning.”440
800.
On 2 March,
there were:
“… major
incidents … in Baghdad and Karbala on the most significant day
of
the Ashura
Festival. In Baghdad a VBIED [Vehicle-Borne IED] and three
suicide
bombers
were responsible for four explosions at the Al Kadamiyah shrine
resulting
in 32
civilians killed and 78 injured … In Karbala mortar attacks and up
to five
suicide
bombers at the twin shrines of Karbala Al Husayn and Al Abbas
resulted in
85
civilians dead and 233 injured.”441
801.
The GC had
been united in condemning the attacks, and had announced
three
days of
national mourning.
438
Bremer LP
III & McConnell M. My Year in
Iraq: The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope.
Threshold, 2006.
439
Statement,
18 May 2010, page 5.
440
Public
hearing, 26 January 2011, pages 62-63.
441
Minutes, 3
March 2004, Chiefs of Staff meeting.
337