The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
1016.
On 17 May, the
President of the GC for that month, Mr Ezzadine Salim, was
killed
by a car
bomb in Baghdad, along with five other Iraqi
civilians.573
1017.
On 18 May Sir
Nigel Sheinwald sent Dr Rice a Note from Mr Blair
for
President Bush,
in advance of their regular video conference two days
later.574
1018.
Mr Blair
wrote that the coming few weeks were the last chance to move
things
into place
before the new Iraqi government took power. The key dilemma was
the
tension
between the political imperative to give the new government full
sovereignty and
the
security situation, which suggested a need for a robust
international presence.
In
Mr Blair’s judgement the political imperative took precedence.
Iraqi consent to the
continued
presence of the MNF was a key issue for the new
resolution.
1019.
Mr Blair
proposed the following timetable:
•
Week
commencing 24 May: Mr Brahimi announces the President,
Vice
Presidents
and Prime Minister. An Iraqi Electoral Commission is
appointed.
The US
and UK suggest the resolution is close to being
agreed.
•
Mr Brahimi
convenes a round table from across Iraq.
•
Week
commencing 31 May: Iraqi Prime Minister sets out his plan for Iraq
in
New York.
The new resolution is adopted. The US/UK and the Iraqi
Prime
Minister
publish a plan for Iraqiisation of security forces.
1020.
On Iraqi
security forces, Mr Blair acknowledged that although numbers
had
risen,
quality needed to be addressed, including by supporting a cadre of
Iraqi leaders.
In Mr Blair’s
view there was no alternative to a discriminating rather than
indiscriminate
de-Ba’athification
policy.
1021.
Mr Blair’s
Note also proposed:
•
better
protection of oil and power installations;
•
more help
for al-Iraqiya (the Iraqi Government-sponsored broadcaster) and
high
quality
media support for the new Iraqi Prime Minister;
•
replicating
the basic concept of the Fallujah Brigade elsewhere;
and
•
that the
Coalition should produce at least an approximate figure of
civilian
casualties,
rather than leave figures being published by NGOs
unchallenged.
1022.
Sir Nigel and
Dr Rice spoke on the telephone during the evening of 18
May.575
Sir Nigel
reiterated Mr Blair’s belief that the coming weeks required “a
major effort”.
573
BBC
News, 17 May
2004, Baghdad
blast kills Iraq leader.
574
Letter
Sheinwald to Rice, 18 May 2004, [untitled], attaching Note [Blair
to Bush], [undated],
‘Note on
Iraq’.
575
Letter
Sheinwald to Adams, 18 May 2004, ‘Iraq: Conversation with US
National Security Adviser,
18 May’.
374