9.5 |
June 2006 to 27 June 2007
On 10 May,
Mr Blair announced – first to Cabinet and then to party
members in his
Sedgefield
constituency – that he was standing down as Leader of the Labour
Party and
would be
resigning as Prime Minister on 27 June.447
820.
On 10 May, Maj
Gen Shaw reported a softening of the Provincial Council’s
attitude
towards
co‑operation with MND(SE), with the Provincial Chairman now
prepared to
engage in
telephone (though not yet face‑to‑face) contact.448
821.
Resolving the
impasse would be important if transition to PIC was to be
achieved
in Basra in
the planned timetable. Maj Gen Shaw commented:
“Ambassador
Crocker’s comments post his visit to Basra Palace do not seem
to
reflect the
reality of the situation here. His assertions to the Secretary of
State that
he had been
struck by the seriousness of the security situation and that PIC in
Basra
under the
current climate would be difficult would appear to have more to do
with
US aspirations
to tie us to remaining in Iraq than they do with objective
assessment.
I was
heartened, however, by the Secretary of State [for Defence]’s
robust response
that August
was an important month for UK and we could not take decisions on
Iraq
in
isolation from Afghanistan …
“Ambassador
Crocker’s comments about the Port (that Iraq’s politicians allowed
it
to be run
by the militias) would also appear to have caused a flurry in
Baghdad …
What is
also depressing is the prospect of military intervention at the
Port; this may
be corrupt,
but is also stable and functions. Upsetting the balance of power
would
not advance
stability in Basra by a single step and would not be the best use
of Iraqi
Army assets
…”
822.
Mr Blair
discussed progress on national reconciliation with President
Talabani on
11
May.449
They
considered there had been significant progress, including recent
public
statements
and fatwas from Abdul Aziz al‑Hakim (leader of SCIRI) and Grand
Ayatollah
al‑Sistani,
which referred to the MNF‑I as “guests”, with all that that implied
in terms of
Islamic
custom.
823.
Mr Blair
commented that one of the lessons that had been learned in
Northern
Ireland was
that “if the majority were not able genuinely to acknowledge the
minority’s
right to a
share of power, then the majority’s own aims could not be
met”.
447
BBC
News, 10 May
2007, Blair will
stand down on 27 June.
448
Minute Shaw
to CJO, 10 May 2007, ‘GOC HQ MND(SE) – Southern Iraq update – 10
May 2007’.
449
Letter
Banner to Hickey, 11 May 2007, ‘Meeting with Iraqi
President’.
153