9.7 | May
2008 to October 2009
304.
Working with
the Government of Iraq, the UK had defined:
“… first,
the tasks that need to [be] completed; secondly, the authorisations
needed
to complete
them; and thirdly, a way to provide a firm legal basis for our
forces.”
305.
Mr Brown
explained that he expected the process of securing a legal basis
for
UK forces
to be completed before resolution 1790 expired, but:
“In the
event of the process not being complete, the Iraqis have told us
that Coalition
Provisional
Authority Order 17, which confers protection on coalition troops,
will
remain in
place. Our troops will therefore have the legal basis that they
need for
the future.”
306.
Once the
agreed tasks were complete, “the fundamental change of mission
that
I described
in the House last summer will take place by 31 May 2009 at the
latest”.
Thereafter
a “rapid withdrawal” of troops would begin, taking the total from
around
4,100 to
under 400 by the end of July. Most of the remaining troops would be
dedicated
to naval
training.
307.
After
withdrawal had taken place, the future Iraq/UK relationship would
be “one of
partnership”,
focused on “economic, commercial, cultural and educational
relationships”.
308.
The Council of
Representatives rejected the law covering UK operations in
Iraq
on 20
December, by six votes.116
Mr Brown’s
Assistant Private Secretary told Mr Brown
that there
had been a dispute over whether the correct procedures had been
followed
in debating
the proposal within the Council of Representatives.
309.
Iraqi
politicians told Mr Prentice that they were objecting to the
process rather than
the content
of the law; Prime Minister Maliki was clear that he still wanted to
ensure that
the
arrangements were put in place.
310.
The Assistant
Private Secretary advised Mr Brown that the UK was pursuing
three
options:
•
discussing
with Mr Maliki’s legal adviser whether it would be possible to
reach
agreement
on a Government to Government basis, without formal
ratification
by the
Parliaments;
•
a letter
from the Iraqi Chief Justice confirming that a Government to
Government
agreement
could rest on CPA Order No.17; or
•
making
cosmetic changes to the law, which would then be resubmitted to
the
Council of
Representatives.
311.
Mr Hutton
was quoted in the media describing the incident as “a minor
hiccup”.117
116
Email
Catsaras to Brown, 20 December 2008, ‘Iraq Withdrawal Law Lost by 6
Votes’.
117
BBC
News, 21
December 2008, Blocked
Iraq troop law ‘a hiccup’.
431