The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
in the
fourth of its four provinces. He told reporters that a decision
would be made on the
“the
military advice of our commanders on the ground”.
153.
At the end of
July, Lt Gen Rollo commented to ACM Stirrup that Lt Gen
Lamb’s
“energy and
initiative acted as a catalyst for a marked change in the
coalition
154.
Lt Gen Rollo
saw the various strands of work (including engagement with
Iraqi
tribes,
with those close to the Sunni insurgency and with Shia militias)
developing at
different
speeds but the rate at which the Sunni were joining the fight
against AQ-I
continued
to accelerate and showed no sign of abating. The challenge, in Lt
Gen Rollo’s
view, was
“no longer how to inspire such ‘awakenings’ outside Anbar,
but how to manage
the flood”.
He commented:
“The future
is all about turning engagement into reconciliation. Much effort is
going
into the
reintroduction of governance and economic assistance in Al Anbar,
as a
way of
further emphasising the advantages of returning to the GoI fold …
This is
essential
to limit the chances of regression, but will only probably go so
far without
progress on
the major legislative items.”
155.
Lt Gen Rollo
reported that the progress on key pieces of legislation (for
example,
the
Hydrocarbons Law) remained “opaque”.
156.
On 1 August,
Mr Asquith met Prime Minister Maliki to deliver a letter
from
Mr Brown on
economic reconstruction (see Section 10.2) and to discuss politics
in
157.
Mr Asquith
stressed the importance of a stable security environment to
making
economic
progress. In relation to the “troublesome” Governor Waili in
Basra,
Prime Minister
Maliki advised that he had been legally dismissed but was
appealing
that decision,
causing a delay in his removal.
158.
Prime Minister
Maliki agreed with Gen Mohan’s assessment that the removal
of
UK forces
from Basra City centre would help to simplify the security
situation. He asked
Mr Asquith
whether the UK was ready to continue to provide operational support
for the
ISF from
Basra Air Station, specifically in relation to the protection of
infrastructure and
ports.
Mr Asquith said that in principle the UK would continue to
work with and support
the ISF, as
it was doing at present. It would be important for Major General
Graham
Binns, who
would be succeeding Maj Gen Shaw as GOC MND(SE), and Gen Mohan
to
discuss the
details of what was required.
69
Minute
Rollo to CDS, 30 July 2007, ‘SBMR-I’s Weekly Report (263) 30 Jul
07’.
70
eGram
32637/07 Baghdad to FCO London, 1 August 2007, ‘Iraq: Meeting with
Prime Minister Maliki,
1 August’.
212