The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
124.
On 31 July, in
a report to Gen Walker, Lieutenant General Robin Brims, the
Senior
British
Military Representative – Iraq (SBMR-I), reported
that:
“At long
last, and with much steering by the US and prompting by ourselves,
the
first
meeting of the Joint Commission on Conditions-Based Transition will
be this
Tuesday and
I will chair the coalition side after the first meeting (when
General
Casey will
take the lead) … The idea is to present agreed recommendations
to
the PM by
26 September with announcements after the constitutional
referendum.
Current
thinking proposes not setting the conditions bar too high and is
aiming
for some
early transfers of suitable cities from coalition forces to
appropriate civil
authorities
– with all transfer decisions being joint ones.”60
125.
Lt Gen Brims
also reported the establishment of a US/UK “Red Team” (or
“Red
Cell”). Its
purpose was to examine counter-insurgency strategy critically and
“determine
which enemy
is the greatest challenge and what they think of our
strategy”.
126.
Lt Gen Brims
wrote that he saw the review as “a most important exercise to
ensure
we test and
adjust our strategy as necessary”.
127.
On 2 August,
Sir Nigel Sheinwald sent Mr Hadley a Note by Mr Blair for
President
Bush.61
It set out
the things that Mr Blair considered “we need to work on
urgently”, and
suggested a
discussion.
128.
On Iraq,
Mr Blair listed Sunni outreach, security transition and
organisation as the
three areas
requiring attention.
129.
Mr Blair
identified Sunni participation as key to the success of
December’s
elections
and wrote that “we will have to take over the Sunni outreach or at
least the
strategy
behind it”. The component parts of that would be:
•
some
detainee releases;
•
installing
a provincial list system for the December elections;
•
vigorous
outreach by the ITG;
•
a
transparent and rules-based de-Ba’athification
process;
•
US/UK
contacts with insurgents, which could “allow local
cease-fires”;
•
reconstruction;
and
•
drawing in
“friendly neighbouring states”.
60
Minute
Brims to CDS, 31 July 2005, ‘SBMR-I Weekly Report (172) 31 July
2005’.
61
Letter
Phillipson to Hadley, 2 August 2005, [untitled] attaching
Note TB [Blair to Bush], 2 August 2005,
‘Note’.
510