The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
155.
The Defence
Committee considered that military training offered “an opportunity
to
maintain a
substantial position of influence for the common good in southern
Iraq, if we
can commit
the military capacity to do so”.
156.
On the
afternoon of 22 July, Mr Brown made a statement “to update the
House
on the
latest developments in Iraq”.56
He
reiterated the objective he had described in
October
2007 for “an independent, prosperous, democratic Iraq that is free
of terrorist
violence,
secure within its borders and a stable presence in the
region”.
157.
Mr Brown
told the House of Commons:
“In recent
months, conditions in Basra have shown a marked improvement.
Incidents
of indirect
fire against British troops in the Basra air station have fallen
from
200 a month
at their peak last summer to an average of fewer than five a
month
since April
this year. As the all-party House of Commons Defence Committee
…
says in its
report today, the security situation in Basra has been
‘transformed’.
…
“The most
important development is that the improvements that we have
seen
have been
increasingly Iraqi-led. Security responsibility for 10 of 18
provinces has
now
transferred to Iraqi control, including all four provinces in
Britain’s areas of
operations
…”
“The
improved security situation has provided a platform for further,
essential
progress on
reconciliation. We have seen not only increased co-operation
between
Sunni
communities and the Iraqi Government … and the return of the
Tawafuq Sunni
party to
the Government, but the passage of key legislation that is helping
to embed
democracy …
The next stage will be Provincial elections … Our message to
the
leaders of
all Iraq’s communities … is that they must continue to make these
right
long-term
decisions to achieve a sustainable peace …
“We will
also continue to focus on helping the Iraqi Government to rebuild
their
economy and
ensuring that the Iraqi people all have a stake in the
future.”
159.
Mr Brown
went on to describe the UK’s changing role:
“Nine
months ago, I set out the key elements of our strategy for handing
over
security in
Basra to the Iraqis and set out the stages for completing the
tasks
that
we have set ourselves. We completed the initial phase on
target, handing
over Basra
to Provincial Iraqi Control in December. This allowed us to
reduce
troop
numbers in southern Iraq from 5,500 in September to 4,500. After
the Iraqi
Government
launched Operation Charge of the Knights to enforce the rule of law
in
56
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 22 July
2008, columns 660-679.
406