9.7 | May
2008 to October 2009
56.
The Iraq
Strategy Group focused on economic developments at its meeting
on
2 June (see
Section 10.2).18
Ms Margaret
Aldred, Deputy Head of the Overseas and
Defence
Secretariat, stressed that economic deliverables would form a core
part of the
narrative
that Mr Browne had asked for following his visit to Basra and
asked DFID to
lead on
compiling it.
57.
Mr Jon
Day, MOD Director General Operational Policy, explained that that
request
had
followed a briefing by the PRT highlighting the lack of capacity
within the UK system
to give an
evidence-based account of what had been achieved in
Basra.
58.
Mr McDonald
noted that Mr Brown would want to announce economic progress
–
or, at the
very least, a Basra economic plan – in his planned Parliamentary
statement
in July.
59.
Mr Frank
Baker, FCO Head of Iraq Group, updated the Group on progress
towards
provincial
elections. If the provincial elections law was passed by the end of
June,
the elections
could take place on 1 October, although December was more
likely.
Some technical
work remained to be done.
60.
Mr Browne
visited Iraq briefly, on his way to Afghanistan, at the end of May,
where
he
“realised a personal ambition by having a cup of tea downtown”, the
result of
“a remarkable
transformation of the security situation”.19
61.
In a report of
his visit sent to Mr Brown on 4 June, Mr Browne wrote
that he had
found UK
troops “enthused about their new role, working alongside the
resurgent Iraqi
Security
Forces”, adding:
“Everyone I
spoke to sensed a real prospect now to leave behind us in Basra
a
positive
legacy. As one officer put it to me, we are now in a similar
position to 2003,
but with
the benefit this time of a security environment which has a
predominantly
Iraqi face.
If we are to avoid the same pitfalls this time round, rapid
investment is
needed in
Joint Security Stations for the Iraqi Army and Police in Basra, and
in
eye‑catching
short-term regeneration initiatives and medium term
employment
schemes.
This needn’t be UK money – the Government of Iraq is revelling in
the
hike in oil
prices … – but perhaps we should consider across government, as
we
approach
the final stages of Op TELIC, what value we would put upon some
flagship
projects
that we can point to as part of a positive UK legacy in southern
Iraq.”
62.
Mr Browne
explained that discussions with Lt Gen Cooper and
Maj Gen White‑Spunner
had confirmed that it would not be possible to go much
below
the current
troop level of 4,100 and still perform a useful mentoring and
training role
without the
substitution of US troops in some of the UK’s current
tasks.
18
Minute
Cabinet Office [junior official] to McDonald, 2 June 2008, ‘Iraq
Strategy Group, 2 June’.
19
Letter
Browne to Brown, 4 June 2008, ‘Visit to Basra’.
391