The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
269.
Sir Jeremy
Greenstock said that the US and UK needed to establish who
would
have title
to Iraqi oil, and who would control expenditure of oil revenues.
Dr Rice
responded
that the Coalition, as the Occupying Power, was responsible for
administering
Iraq. It
followed that control over Iraqi finances could not be transferred
elsewhere.
US legal
advice was that the Coalition could sell Iraqi oil without UN cover
if necessary.
She
concluded:
“The CPA
would be the Government until the IIA took over, and so would
write
the
cheques, even if this was dressed up with UN cover, or monitoring,
or an
international
board.”
270.
Mr Straw
noted the presentational sensitivities of the Coalition using
Iraq’s money.
271.
During the
meeting, Mr Rycroft and Mr Bellinger were tasked to go
through the
US draft
in detail and produce a further version for
discussion.138
272.
Mr Bellinger
sent a revised draft to Mr Rycroft later that day. The revised
draft
recorded
separate UK and US language on who would control disbursement
from
the Iraqi
Development Fund, and how it would be administered. The UK
language
gave
control to “the authorities in Iraq, including the Interim Iraqi
Administration when
established”,
the US language to the “Occupying Powers/CPA”.
273.
Mr Straw,
Sir David Manning, Sir Jeremy Greenstock and
officials discussed the
latest
draft resolution by video link with Dr Rice and US officials
on 1 May.139
274.
On the Iraqi
Development Fund, Sir Jeremy said that the lack of some
provision for
oversight
or disbursement by the IIA would be a major problem for the
Security Council.
Dr Rice
responded that the Security Council needed to recognise the facts
on the
ground; the
Coalition was the Occupying Power and would need to be able to
manage
disbursement.
275.
The record of
the video conference did not indicate that any resolution
was
reached on
the issue.
276.
Mr Bellinger
sent through a further US draft of a post-conflict resolution
on
277.
The draft
stated that the Iraqi Assistance Fund should be disbursed “at
the
direction
of the Authority, in consultation with the Iraqi Interim
Authority”.141
The
Fund
would be
audited by independent accountants, and established “with an
international
advisory
board”.
138
Letter
Bellinger to Rycroft, 30 April 2003, attaching Paper [draft],
[undated], ‘Resolution on
Post-Conflict
Iraq’.
139
Letter
Cannon to McDonald, 1 May 2003, ‘Iraq/UN: Video-Conference with
Condi Rice, 1 May’.
140
Letter
Bellinger to Rycroft, 4 May 2003, [untitled] attaching Paper,
[undated], ‘Resolution on
Post‑Conflict
Iraq’.
141
The term
“the Authority” referred to the authorities of the Occupying
Powers.
414