9.5 |
June 2006 to 27 June 2007
605.
On 19
February, Mr Blair’s Private Secretary sent a record of a
phone call between
Mr Blair
and Prime Minister Maliki to Mrs Beckett’s Private
Office.317
It
said:
“He
[Mr Blair] noted that Maliki was aware of our intention to
start drawdown in
Basra when
conditions allowed. We hoped to start this between now and
May
as we
judged the Iraqi forces capable of taking the lead. He emphasised
that we
would be
maintaining a presence at Basra Palace. Maliki wondered if a two
month
pause would
be possible to ensure that we were fully joined up. The Prime
Minister
reiterated
that this would be done between now and May.”
606.
The Private
Secretary asked Lt Gen Lamb and Mr Robert Gibson, Deputy Head
of
Mission at
the British Embassy Baghdad, to call on Prime Minister Maliki the
following
day to
ensure he was in the picture on plans for the
statement.
607.
They reported
back that Prime Minister Maliki had understood from the call that
the
UK would
withdraw troops from Basra on 21 February.318
608.
Mr Gibson
and Lt Gen Lamb told Prime Minister Maliki that:
“The UK
would stay in Basra throughout 2007 and into 2008 for as long as
Maliki …
wished and
the conditions warranted it. The Prime Minister’s message and the
UK
decision to
reduce troop numbers was not directly connected to handing over
Basra
to
provincial Iraqi security control. The timing of that was a matter
for Maliki. Rather
the
decision was driven by the requirement to balance British force
levels between
Iraq and
Afghanistan.”
609.
Following
their meeting, Lt Gen Lamb and Mr Gibson reported that Prime
Minister
Maliki
appeared to be happy with the proposed announcement.
610.
Mr Blair
spoke to President Bush on 20 February by video conference and told
him
that the
UK’s re‑posturing would be a little more cautious than some might
expect; the
UK would
not be reducing “combat capability”.319
611.
Mr Blair’s
Private Secretary recorded that:
“He
stressed that we would also still be taking action against JAM in
Basra.”
317
Letter
Phillipson to Siddiq, 19 February 2007, ‘Iraq: Prime Minister’s
Phonecall with Maliki,
19
February’.
318
eGram
6918/07 Baghdad to FCO London, 20 February 2007, ‘Iraq: Maliki
& the Prime Minister’s
Proposed
Announcement’.
319
Letter
Phillipson to Hayes, 20 February 2007, ‘Prime Minister’s VTC with
President Bush, 20 February:
Iraq,
Israel/Palestine, Afghanistan’.
113