The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
add a
number of principles “unacceptable to both the US and ourselves” to
the Iraqi
Government’s
letter to the Security Council. They included:
•
the right
of the Iraqi Government to assume full command and control of the
ISF;
•
that the
recruitment, training and equipping of the ISF should be
the
responsibility
of the Iraqi Government; and
•
that all
coalition detentions should be governed by Iraqi law.
646.
In discussions
with the US, Mr Prentice emphasised that the UK was keen
for
a smooth
roll-over, but had concerns that the language in the letter could
undermine
the effect
of the Chapter VII resolution. He wanted to ensure that UK legal
advisers
had an
opportunity to clear the language and that any differences between
the US and
UK
interpretations could be ironed out before the US responded
formally to the Iraqi
Government
and before the texts were sent to New York.
647.
Ambassador
Satterfield agreed to share the text of the Iraqi Government’s
letter
as soon as
he received it.
648.
Lt Gen Rollo
reported on 3 December that the US was focused on the
new
resolution.298
Although
there remained “the possibility of political ambush on the
subject
of US
military freedom of action”, US attention was beginning to turn to
the Long Term
Security
Arrangement (LTSA) that would succeed it.
649.
Gen Petraeus
had directed his staff to help lay the groundwork for a UK
equivalent
of the LTSA
or a Chapter VI resolution that would provide adequate protection
for UK
(and EU)
involvement in Iraq. Lt Gen Rollo wrote that the UK would need to
take an
early view
on the level of protection it required and whether it was
obtainable without a
Chapter VII
resolution.
650.
Lt Gen Rollo
commented that, despite being “relatively innocuous” in itself,
the
US/Iraqi
bilateral Statement of Intent had “acted as a lightning rod for
Iraqi frustration
over a
number of sovereignty issues”, an indication of the friction that
the debate on the
successor
resolution was likely to prompt.
651.
On 3 December,
the House of Commons Defence Committee published a
report
entitled
UK land
operations in Iraq 2007, based in
part on its visit to Iraq in July.299
652.
The Defence
Committee said:
“In
South-Eastern Iraq, there has been a dramatic decrease in the
number of attacks
against UK
and coalition forces since the decision was taken to withdraw from
Basra
Palace, but
there has been no corresponding reduction in the number of
attacks
against the
civilian population of Basra.”
298
Minute
Rollo to CDS, 3 December 2007, ‘SBMR-I’s Weekly Report (279) 3 Dec
07’.
299
First
report from the Defence Committee, Session 2007-08,
UK land
operations in Iraq 2007, HC
110.
302