The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
124.
On 14 April,
Mr Blair told the House of Commons that:
“… around
2,000 police officers have reported for work, there are some joint
patrols
in being
and the head of the civil police department, not to be confused
with the
special
security forces, has ordered police to return to
work.” 93
125.
In a
conversation with President Bush on 14 April, Mr Blair stated
that the Iraqi
police
clearly needed to be re‑organised and deployed.94
There could
be a role for
foreign
police contingents.
126.
General Tommy
Franks, Commander in Chief US Central Command
(CENTCOM),
issued his
‘Freedom Message to the Iraqi People’ on 16 April
2003.95
It
instructed the
Iraqi armed
forces and security organisations to:
“… lay down
their arms … and … obey the orders of the nearest Coalition
military
commander.
All other Iraqis should continue their normal daily activities;
officials
should
report to their places of work until told otherwise.”
127.
On 21 April,
OHRA entered Iraq.96
128.
In late April,
the UK AO was declared “permissive”, first by UK forces
on
22 April97
and a few
days later by the UN Security Co‑ordinator.98
The
Coalition defined
“permissive”
environments as ones to which humanitarian assistance
organisations
could have
access, although they should use all precautionary measures and
notify the
129.
Section 8
describes the evolution of the boundaries of the UK AO.
On
24 April,
Ministers agreed that “the size of the UK military sector will
depend on the
permissiveness
of the environment and the extent of other nations’ contributions,
but
the current
assumption was that it would comprise four, or possibly five
provinces in
130.
As Occupying
Power in those provinces, the UK had responsibility for the
provision
of public
order and safety under international law and resolution 1483
(2003), as set out
in Section
9.1.
93
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 14 April
2003, column 616.
94
Letter
Cannon to McDonald, 14 April 2003, ‘Iraq: Prime Minister’s
Conversation with Bush, 14 April’.
95
Statement
General Tommy R Franks, 16 April 2003, ‘Freedom Message to the
Iraqi People’.
96
Bowen SW
Jr. Hard
Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience.
U.S. Government Printing Office,
2009.
97
Note MOD to
No.10, 23 April 2003, ‘Iraq: Update for the Number 10 Sitrep – As
at 0630 on
23 April
2003’.
98
Written
evidence to the Select Committee on Defence, 16 March 2004,
‘Further Memorandum from the
Ministry of
Defence on Post Conflict Issues’, February 2004’, HC
57‑III.
99
Report of
The Independent Panel on the Safety and Security of UN Personnel in
Iraq, 20 October 2003.
100
Minutes, 24
April 2003, Ad Hoc Group on Iraq Rehabilitation
meeting.
90