“Insufficient troops in Iraq”, warns committee
A new report from the Foreign Affairs Select Committee concludes that an “insufficient” number of troops in Iraq has contributed to a deterioration in security.
In a wide-ranging report, covering Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel and Palestine, Russia and wider foreign policy principles, the committee concluded that: “al Qaeda continues to pose a very serious threat to the United Kingdom and its interests.
“As a result, fighting the threat of international terrorism must remain a top foreign policy priority.”
It says that despite the violence in Iraq stemming from a number of sources, including criminal gangs and members of the former regime, “Iraq has become a ‘battle ground’ for al Qaeda, with appalling consequences for the Iraqi people.”
“We conclude that the insufficient number of troops in Iraq has contributed to the deterioration in security. We further conclude that the failure of countries other than the US and United Kingdom to send significant numbers of troops has had serious and regrettable consequences.”
In a rare moment of praise for the Government, it commends efforts to achieve diplomatic consensus around a new resolution (UNSCR 1546) but notes it is “disappointing” that so many countries have refused to commit troops. It recommends the Government should work to encourage more countries, in particularly Islamic countries, to contribute troops.
The committee suggests that the Government should set out what it regards as the minimum and optimum numbers for the Iraq police and armed forces, saying at the moment they are “a long way from being able to maintain security.”
The Government is also urged to move towards legislation regulating private security companies, now widely operating in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Moving onto allegations of abuse by British personnel, it calls on the Government to set out what lessons it has learnt from the incidences and “what safeguards are being put in place to prevent a recurrence of such appalling incidents.”
The MPs also ask for information on how many Iraqi detainees or prisoners of war are held, their status, location and likely future.
Turning finally to the reconstruction of Iraq, it notes it is too early to judge the performance of the new Iraqi government but concludes “it is crucial that the sovereignty of the new government is respected and that foreign governments should not interfere in its decision making”.
It is “highly desirable that elections proceed on schedule in order to foster Iraqi engagement and confidence in the political transition”, but the committee warn that such elections must be secure and plans put in place to deal with counter-insurgency.
On wider foreign policy issues that have emerged out of Iraq, namely situations where states can intervene in the internal affairs of other states, the committee urges caution. Noting that a doctrine of “humanitarian intervention” appears to be emerging, it warns that its application in the context of the war against terrorism raises difficult questions of interpretation and embodies significant risk.
“We recommend that the Government work to establish a consensus on when intervention on humanitarian grounds is permissible, in order to prevent its abuse by states pursing their national interest.
“Any reforms and actions must not undermine the system of collective security or “threaten the paramountcy of the United Nations in the international legal system.”
More explanation is called for on the doctrine of “anticipatory self-defence”, and it calls on the Government to explain how “it will persuade its allies to limit the use of the doctrine to a “threat of catastrophic attack”.
