The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
b. Second,
the Iraqis believe in the UK’s commitment to their newly won
Iraqi
sovereignty.
They anticipate that we will depart, not in the manner of
our
arrival,
but at the invitation of the sovereign government.
“Against
this background, it is very important that MND(SE) are forward
leaning in
selling
their transition plan up the coalition chain of command. There is a
lingering
suspicion
in Baghdad, borne of events last September, that MND(SE) is
an
independent
UK fiefdom run from London, rather than a fully integrated
coalition
partner. It
is important that our coalition credentials are immaculate during
what will
be an
occasionally fractious period.”
521.
On 17 January,
Mr Blair suggested to President Bush that “most Iraqis” wanted
a
unity
government but “were not sure how to get there”.246
522.
The Italian
Government announced on 19 January 2006 that it hoped to
withdraw
Italian
troops from the province of Dhi Qar by the end of the
year.247
523.
The
uncertified results of December’s election were announced on 20
January.248
524.
The United
Iraqi Alliance gained the highest number of seats (128) but fell
short
of the 138
required for an absolute majority. Mr Patey reported that the
abnormally high
turnout
figures for some areas suggested either inaccurate voter
registration or electoral
fraud,
which would need to be addressed before further elections could be
held.
246
Letter
Quarrey to Siddiq, 17 January 2006, ‘Prime Minister’s VTC with
President Bush: Middle East
issues’.
247
BBC
News, 19
January 2006, Italy to
pull out of Iraq in 2006.
248
eGram
1344/06 Baghdad to FCO London, 23 January 2006, ‘Iraq: Elections:
Announcement of
Uncertified
Results’.
576