New, Confidential Blair Iraq Memo: 'An unbelievable mess'

[RedEarth]

'An unbelievable mess': Memo from John Sawer, Blair's special envoy to Iraq after Saddam's overthrow

Tuesday March 14, 2006
The Guardian


Confidential
Personal from special rep for Iraq

For:

No 10: Powell, Manning, Campbell, Rycroft

FCO: PS/SOS, PS/O'Brien, PUS, Ricketts, E m, Chaplin, Chilcott

Subject: Personal: Iraq: What's Going Wrong?

1. A Baghdad First strategy is needed. The problems are worst in the capital, and it is the one place we can't afford to get it wrong. But the troops here are tired and are not providing the security framework needed. We need a clear policy on which Ba'athists can return, a more concerted effort on reconstruction, and an imaginative approach on the media. For all this, money needs to be released by Washington. The clock is ticking.

Detail

2. Four days in Iraq has been enough to identify the main reasons why the reconstruction of Iraq is so slow. The Coalition are widely welcomed, but are gradually losing public support.

3. Garner's outfit, ORHA, is an unbelievable mess. No leadership, no strategy, no coordination, no structure, and inaccessible to ordinary Iraqis. Bremer's arrival is not a day too soon. Garner and his top team of 60-year old retired generals are well-meaning, but out of their depth. Tim Cross is widely seen as the only senior figure offering direction ...

4. It is clear that Baghdad is the biggest problem. Other parts of Iraq are getting organised: there are minimal Shia/Sunni tensions; town councils have been agreed in the sensitive cities of Mosul and Kirkuk; and so on. But Baghdad has the worst security, a poor level of essential services and no information flow ...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1730423,00.html

[Inland]

1. "Condi-dential memo" means something that will be ignored? nt

[RedEarth]

2. lol......... a condi moment......

[Divernan]

3. So this memo was written several years ago and just now leaked.

Although the article is dated March 14, 2006, the memo itself is undated. However it refers to the fact that Paul Bremer has just arrived. I think the article should have had SOME background information included, specifically the fact that this memo is several years old.

It's an incredible read as to the true state that Baghdad and Iraq were in at that time, and highlights the fact that all our vaunted "embedded" US reporters failed to come up with such a good, concise overview of the mess everything was in.

[spindrifter]

4. Our "embeds"

were not supposed to be reporting criticism.:sarcasm: They were there to report on the patriotic theme, Mission Accomplished.