The Report of the Iraq Inquiry

464. Sir Nigel agreed.268

465. Mr Straw wrote to Mr Blair on 5 July with an update on the constitutional

process.269 Section 9.4 describes the development of the Iraqi Constitution from June

2005 to its adoption in October 2005.

466. Mr Straw attached a paper produced by the FCO Research Analysts which set out

the substantive issues that the Constitutional Committee needed to address, and the

UK’s view on those issues. He advised Mr Blair that the paper would serve as the UK’s

“reference point” during the negotiations on the Constitution.

467. The paper recognised the importance of control over natural resources in the

debate on federalism.270 The Kurdish authorities were expected to champion the

devolution of oil revenues and the ability to manage their own economic development.

Shia Arabs were increasingly calling for some sort of economic federalism for the South

and a greater share of Iraq’s oil revenues. The UK had “a strong interest in avoiding any

arrangement which would entrench sectarian divisions, e.g. a single large federation in

the South”.

468. Mr Straw wrote to DOP(I) members on 13 October, advising them that “despite its

inevitable deficiencies, the draft Constitution represents a major achievement”.271

469. Mr Straw attached an IPU paper which identified the “potential points of contention”

within the draft Constitution, including natural resources:

“The ambiguities in the text were necessary to secure agreement. But they also

pave the way for difficulties in the future. Perhaps the worst offender … is Article 109

on oil and gas, which is a model of imprecision.”272

470. The IPU stated that Article 109 of the draft Constitution specified that the current

oil and gas resources would be managed by the federal Government “with the producing

governorates and regional governments” in a manner to be regulated by a law.

471. The IPU commented that the law would need to clarify what “with” meant in that

context.

472. Press reports at the end of November 2005 that a Norwegian oil company had

signed a contract with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), rather than the Iraqi

268 Manuscript comment Sheinwald to Quarrey on Letter Straw to Blair, 12 July 2005, ‘Iraq: Oil and Gas

Strategy’.

269 Letter Straw to Prime Minister, 5 July 2005, ‘Iraq: Constitution’ attaching Paper FCO/RAD, June 2005,

‘Constitutional Issues’.

270 Paper FCO/RAD, June 2005, ‘Constitutional Issues’.

271 Letter Foreign Secretary to DOP(I) Committee Members, 13 October 2005, ‘Iraq: Constitution Paper’.

272 Letter Foreign Secretary to DOP(I) Committee Members, 13 October 2005, ‘Iraq: Constitution Paper’

attaching Paper IPU, [undated], ‘Constitution: Potential Points of Contention’.

444