The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
An initial
assessment of the impact of al‑Zarqawi’s death made shortly after
he was
killed said
that it would bolster the image of the Iraqi Government and have a
short term
disruptive
effect on AQ‑I.9
But his
death was also likely to enhance his iconic status and
inspire
other extremists.
In a
telephone conversation with Prime Minister Maliki on 8 June,
Mr Blair described the
operation
as “a very important moment for Iraq”.10
Over the
weeks that followed, AQ‑I suffered further losses with the capture
of several
Documents
and IT equipment found after the 7 June airstrike provided key
information
about
AQ‑I.12
Mr Mowaffak
al‑Rubaie, Iraq’s National Security Adviser, was reported
to
have told a
news conference in Baghdad “now we have the upper
hand”.
General
Stanley McChrystal, the US officer who led the operation against
al‑Zarqawi,
wrote in
his memoir:
“His death
was more than symbolically important. It was a trite reaction among
some
to point
out that there were thousands of men ready to replace Zarqawi – or
any
leader we
removed. It was of course true that the organisation regained a
leader …
And yet
there were not, in fact, thousands of ‘Zarqawis’. He was a peculiar
leader.
His mix
of charisma, brutality, and clear‑eyed persistence was never
matched by
al‑Masri or
al‑Masri’s successor.”13
13.
On 8 June,
Prime Minister Maliki appointed the final members of his Cabinet:
the
Ministers
for the Interior, Security and Defence.14
Each had
been subject to approval by
majority
vote in the Council of Representatives. Other ministers had been
appointed on
20 May (see
Section 9.4).
14.
Mr William
Patey, the British Ambassador to Iraq, reported that “it is of
course good
news that
the Government has been finalised but the outcome is far from our
ideal”, with
some
appointments unlikely to command the broad support for which the UK
would have
wished.
15.
Mr Donald
Rumsfeld, the US Defense Secretary, observed that it was “fitting
that the
completion
of the new Iraqi government coincided with his [al‑Zarqawi’s]
death”.15
16.
The new
government broadly reflected the ethno‑sectarian balance of
Iraq.16
It included
four women. They were appointed to the Ministries for Housing
and
9
Minute
Dowse to Banner, 8 June 2006, ‘Impact of Zarqawi’s
death’.
10
Letter
Banner to Siddiq, 8 June 2006, ‘Iraq: Maliki’.
11 JIC
Assessment, 19 July 2006, ‘Iraq: Insurgency, Sectarianism and
Violence’.
12
BBC
News, 15 June
2006, Al‑Qaeda
‘coming to end in Iraq’.
13
McChrystal
S. My Share of
the Task. Portfolio/Penguin,
2013.
14
eGram
22963/06 Baghdad to FCO London, 8 June 2006, ‘Iraq: Ministers of
Interior, Defence and
National
Security Appointed’.
15
DoD News
Briefing with Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen Casey from the Pentagon,
22 June 2006.
16
eGram
19337/06 22 May 2006, ‘Iraq: The New Government’.
4