9.3 |
July 2004 to May 2005
450.
In a
Parliamentary Statement the following day, Mr Straw commented that
the
elections
had been:
“… a moving
demonstration that democracy and freedom are universal values
to
which
people everywhere aspire.”242
451.
A report on
the elections sent to Mr Blair on 31 January suggested that
overall
turnout
might exceed 60 percent and recounted a number of anecdotes
“pointing
to
Iraqis’
courage and determination”, including:
“… in Sadr
city, people wounded by a mortar attack rejoined the queue to
vote;
villagers
near Abu Ghraib sought US military protection as they went to
vote;
relatives
of terrorist victims told the media that voting was their duty to
the memory
of those
who had died.” 243
452.
Reflecting on
the election in a telephone call with President Bush on 31
January,
Mr Blair
said that the media had reported events positively, and had
recognised the
importance
of the occasion.244
He
considered that it was vital to use the elections to
generate
“some real momentum” in Iraq.
453.
On 1 February,
Mr Blair suggested to President Bush that they should focus
on
four areas
in order to exploit post-election momentum:
•
Iraqiisation,
including ensuring that the ITG had 8-10,000 “crack troops
who
could deal
with any situation”;
•
political
outreach, including “whittling away at the opposition, so that the
hard
core were
left isolated”;
•
drawing in
the international community; and
•
reconstruction,
including areas in which there could be a quick impact (eg
power
454.
Mr Blair
proposed that these areas should be drawn into a plan by the ITG,
which
the UK and
US could then support.
455.
The UK
provided a draft of such a statement to the US in early April,
where it met
“some
scepticism at official level”.246
242
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 31
January 2005, column 573.
243
Minute
Quarrey to Prime Minister, 31 January 2005, ‘Iraq
Elections’.
244
Letter
Phillipson to Adams, 31 January 2005, ‘Prime Minister’s discussion
with President Bush,
31 January:
Iraq and MEPP’.
245
Letter
Quarrey to Owen, 1 February 2005, ‘Prime Minister’s VTC with
President Bush, 1 February’.
246
Minute
Phillipson to Prime Minister, 7 April 2005, ‘Bilateral with
President Bush: 0800-0845, 8 April’.
467