Downing Street Says

Asked to comment on the number of civilian deaths, as published in today’s UN report, and also the recent figure of 2 million people having being left in Iraq so far, the PMOS said that nobody underplayed the difficulties there were in Iraq, but he warned that people should be careful. There was a tendency in some of the reporting of this figure for people to almost suggest that if only we were to leave, then the killing would stop. Most assessments, and certainly that of the Iraqi Government, were the reverse. That was why the Iraqi Government had asked us to stay, and that was why we were there with a UN mandate. The important thing was that we confronted those who were responsible for these killings, which was not the multinational force, and that we put in place a process by which we supported the democratically elected Government of Iraq. That was what we were doing.

Asked about the notion that everyone who could afford to leave Iraq was doing so, the PMOS replied that he was not going to comment on the detail of the figures, as they were drawn up by other people. The important thing was that we tried to get the momentum going in the right direction, and that was about taking the right security measures. However, it was also about taking the right political measures as well. That was what we were about at the moment, and there were various pieces of that work going on, not least, the emphasis that the Prime Minister was putting on trying to get the situation in the Middle East as a whole in a different place.

Asked was it not the case that both the Prime Minister and President Bush were in danger of becoming marginal figures, as Iran and Syria were going their own way, the PMOS replied that if the journalist had been on the recent trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan, the description of the Prime Minister would not have been seen as valid. In terms of did people look to the Prime Minister for a lead, the answer was: yes. If people had listened to what the President of Kazakhstan had said yesterday, again, the Prime Minister’s role was very clear. What was important was that we worked with the Iraqi Government to find a way forward, and to marginalise the terrorists who were carrying out these attacks. What would not happen was that the terrorists would suddenly disappear if we left the country. Rather, the reverse would be the case, as they would be emboldened.

Put that when the Chancellor was in Basra recently, he said that we could expect UK troops to withdraw within the next few months, the PMOS said that our strategy had always been that as Iraqi capability increased, so our role would decrease. There was Operation Sinbad going on at the moment in Basra, and much would depend on the outcome of that. However, the PMOS said that he was not going to get into discussing timetables. The important thing to remember was that the criteria that we set out, and had done for the past two years, was precisely that, i.e. the capability of the Iraqi forces to be able to take on responsibility.

Put that Sir Christopher Meyer had said at the weekend that the Prime Minister had no influence in Israel, and he might as well concentrate on Iraq, therefore, why was the Prime Minister returning to Israel, the PMOS said that it was the attitude of the Governments in the region who believed that the Prime Minister was an important figure who could influence things. What was important was that we concentrated less on playing this kind of game, and instead, focus on the substance. That substance was that we needed to try and get the momentum going in a reverse direction, especially in the aftermath of an event like yesterday. The PMOS said that we did that by supporting those who were trying to uphold moderate values in the region, such as Prime Minister Siniora of Lebanon.

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» Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Iraq

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