Topical Documents

A committee headed by former cabinet secretary Lord Robin Butler was appointed to investigate the failings of British intelligence services in the gathering of evidence concerning Iraqi WMD. The Butler Report was published 14 July 2004. It made three basic points. First, that the intelligence submitted was weak. Second, that the government exaggerated that weak intelligence to present it as certainty. Third, that the informal, non-minuted, “sofa-style” of government decision-making that characterized the war decision ran counter to the principles of collective cabinet-level decision-making and democratic government. Despite the obvious conclusion, Lord Butler studiedly avoided blaming anybody.

The Interim Iraqi Constitution was signed in Baghdad on 8 March 2004 by the 25 members of the US/UK-appointed Iraqi Governing Council (or their representatives). The Interim Constitution will be in effect till a permanent constitution is passed in a referendum planned for October 2005. A transitional government elected by an appointed assembly will replace the appointed government of Ayad Allawi at the end of 2004. The first official government will be elected in general elections planned for December 2005. Until the end of this elaborate process, command over military and security matters will lie with occupation forces; this is guaranteed by Article 59(B) of the interim constitution. Furthermore, Article 59(C) authorizes the appointed transitional government (of Allawi) to negotiate “internationally binding agreements” that would sanction the indefinite presence of foreign forces in Iraq.

The “Taguba Report” on treatment of Abu Ghraib prisoners in Iraq was commissioned by the US military's Central Command and prepared by Maj Gen Antonio Taguba. It was intended to be kept secret. When it became public, it confirmed reports of the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.