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Iraq: Roulement
4.42 pm
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos): With permission, I should like to repeat a Statement made by my right honourable friend the Defence Secretary in another place. The Statement is as follows:
"With permission, Mr Speaker, I should like to make a Statement about our operations and force levels in Iraq. First, let me express my sincere condolences to the families of Captain Richard Holmes and Private Lee Ellis of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment killed in Iraq on 28 February; and Trooper Carl Smith who died on 2 February. I am sure the whole House will wish to be associated with these condolences.
"We express our sympathy too for all those families of the forces of other nations and of the many innocent civilians who have died or been injured as a result of terrorist activity in Iraq in recent months.
"Honourable and right honourable Members will have been following the situation in Iraq carefully and will, like me, have been concerned about
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events—in particular, the disgraceful bombing of the al-Askari shrine in Samarra. Some commentators have suggested that that act of terror will lead to a slide into civil war. It is certainly true that these acts of terrorism are cruel and barbaric, but they are not mindless. They have a purpose. It is to undermine the efforts of the vast majority of the Iraqi people who seek peace, stability and democracy in their country; it also has the purpose of breaking the will of the coalition forces supporting them in that quest. Despite the ferocity of the terrorist, the Iraqi people will not be defeated. And our will to see the job done will not be broken.
"Our analysis is that civil war is neither imminent nor inevitable. But it is the case that in some areas of Iraq, including in Baghdad, there has been an increase in sectarian violence. This is abhorrent and plays to the aims of the terrorists. But, in fact, in the face of the cynical targeting of the Samarra attack, the aftermath has been characterised more by calls for restraint by Iraqi politicians and religious leaders, by the calm reaction of the vast majority of Iraqis—despite their natural revulsion and anger—and the mature response of Iraq's new security forces. These are, in the midst of all the problems that we see, encouraging signs in a very difficult and delicate situation.
"Our respect and admiration for the men and women of our Armed Forces remain undiminished. The truly magnificent work that they are doing there is having a positive effect, and they have played a vital role in helping Iraq come a long, long way in a short space of time.
"Suffice it to say, Iraqis have clearly shown us what they want, and it is not a return to fear and oppression. They showed us that most impressively in December, when some 12 million of them—about 75 per cent of the electorate—voted in free and fair elections, despite the threats of death and destruction.
"The current political wrangling over the formation of a new coalition government is perhaps natural, but it is also contributing to uncertainty and fuelling speculation. As that process moves forward, the Iraqi politicians must not forget the commitment of the Iraqi people, who voted in large numbers to bring order and fair government to a unified Iraq. However, there has also been a continual and considerable advance in the numbers, capability and morale of the Iraqi security forces, which have developed as democracy has developed. It is in this context that I now turn to the UK's troop presence.
"When I announced the last changeover in October last year, there were 190,000 members of the Iraqi security forces already trained, capable and equipped. Today, I can tell the House that there are around 235,000 members of such forces—45,000 more—and others are joining them at the rate of around 5,000 every month.
"It is against this background that we assess our troop levels. I can therefore tell the House today that, as a result of this roulement, there will be a
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reduction of British forces in Iraq of around 800 personnel. This reflects the completion of some of our security sector reform tasks in developing the capability of the Iraqi forces; for instance, in training the trainers and those involved in the guarding of institutions. It also reflects improvements in the way we configure our own forces.
"Our force levels reflect the in-theatre assessments in the south-east of Iraq. Today's announcement marks a reduction from the high point of some 10,000 UK personnel in October 2003 to just over 7,000 from May this year.
"The lead formation in Iraq, currently 7th Armoured Brigade, will be replaced in early May by 20th Armoured Brigade. The following major units will be deployed to replace those in theatre today: 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards; the Queen's Royal Hussars; 12th Regiment Royal Artillery; 33 and 35 Engineer Regiments; 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards; 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment; 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, which is the reserve in Cyprus; 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment; 1st Battalion The Devon and Dorset Light Infantry; 1st Battalion The Light Infantry; and 3 Logistic Support Regiment Royal Logistic Corps. A number of reserve personnel will accompany this deployment, including soldiers from The Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers, and The King's and Cheshire Regiment.
"Aviation support will continue to be provided by five Merlin and eight Sea King support helicopters, and four Lynx. In May, there will be a reduction of two Sea King helicopters. Our support to the Iraqi navy and our contribution to the coalition taskforce in the north Arabian Gulf will continue unchanged.
"Let me stress that the reductions I have announced today are not—I repeat, not—part of a handover of security responsibility at the operational level. They are not caused by, nor a cause of, changes in troop levels of other coalition allies.
"In the next few weeks, the Joint Committee to Transfer Security Responsibility, a body made up of Iraqi Ministers, military staff and senior coalition figures, will start the assessment phase to look at whether conditions have been met for some provinces in Iraq to begin the handover process. Today is not that stage of handover. When they have reached conclusions, I will update the House on the implications.
"In closing, I should like to reiterate that we continue, amid the struggles, to make progress in Iraq. Of course, much remains to be done. Let me stress that the reductions that I have announced are not part of a handover of security responsibility. They do reflect the completion of some of our security sector reform tasks, which we set ourselves some time ago, in developing the capability of the Iraqi forces—training the trainers, and guarding institutions.
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"Our commitment to the Iraqi people and their government remains total and steadfast. Our commitment to the coalition is certain. We will stay as long as we are needed and wanted, and until the job is done. Today marks another significant step in that process".
My Lords, that concludes the Statement.
4.51 pm
Lord Astor of Hever: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness the Leader of the House for repeating the Statement. Sadly, but properly, our first words in response must be to join in the condolences expressed to the families and friends of Captain Richard Holmes, Private Lee Ellis and Trooper Carl Smith. Every time we reflect in sorrow on the death of another British soldier, we are prompted to ask ourselves for how much longer this roll of honour will continue to grow.
We on this side of the House have consistently supported the Government in their view that there are a number of landmark points that need to be achieved before the UK can appropriately withdraw its Armed Forces from Iraq. We must now say, however, that we are concerned to learn from the Statement that the Joint Committee to Transfer Security has not yet started to assess the extent to which the obvious and attainable landmarks are being achieved—particularly in relation to the readiness of Iraq's own security forces—and that it is not expected to start to do so for some weeks yet. What will be the terms of reference of the joint committee for the assessment of withdrawal? When do the Government anticipate that the joint committee will be likely to reach conclusions?
Clearly, a crucial factor leading to stability and the drawdown of coalition forces in Iraq is the readiness of Iraqi security forces. Is their recruiting and training proceeding at a level and on a timescale that the Government expect of it? How soon do the Government anticipate they will have reached the level of competency to be able to take over security from coalition forces?
A paragraph in the copy of the Statement that we were given, which the noble Baroness did not repeat, mentions that, of 118 combat battalions, only 59 currently have the capability to conduct counter-insurgency operations independent of coalition support. I am curious as to why that paragraph was omitted from the Statement that the noble Baroness repeated. When do the Government expect the other half to have this capability?
Can the noble Baroness tell the House what other coalition countries are doing? How many will be pulling out in the first half of this year? I have in mind Italy and Poland in particular. Will the noble Baroness assure the House that our troops have been given every possible support to deal with the increased attrition from roadside bombs? Are the Government satisfied that our troops are adequately protected in their camps?
Are Her Majesty's Government satisfied that the US/UK coalition is operating effectively in terms of winning hearts and minds? And are we successful in
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influencing the US in terms of strategy and tactics on the ground? Are our forces working effectively with US forces in theatre according to the operational doctrine, as deemed most appropriate by British military commanders?
The Statement reiterates that we will keep our Armed Forces in Iraq so long as they are needed and wanted, until the job is done. We must not leave our troops in Iraq just to be shot at. It is essential that the judgment of the job being done is a British judgment, and not that of anyone else.
4.55 pm
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