1 Introduction
1. The Defence Committee has carried out regular
scrutiny of UK operations in Iraq (Operation TELIC) since forces
were committed in 2003, and has undertaken frequent visits to
the operational theatre since that date. During this Parliament
we have visited Iraq in June 2006, July 2007 and June 2008. There
have been four substantive Reports on the issue since 2004[1],
and in addition we have scrutinised the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
Main and Supplementary Estimates with a particular focus on the
cost of operations both in Iraq and Afghanistan.
2. The purpose of this Report is to place on the
public record a summary of our most recent visit to Iraq and the
Northern Arabian Gulf and the conclusions reached by those of
us who participated in the visit. In drawing up our observations,
recommendations and conclusions, we have relied primarily on the
first-hand experience of those Members, but also on the extensive
information available in the public domain as well as our own
previous Reports and the evidence submitted to them.
3. We want to place our observations on the record
as quickly as possible, so as to provide a snapshot of the situation
as we found it in Iraq and the Gulf. We will return to the issue
later in the year and intend to take evidence from the Secretary
of State for Defence and the Secretary of State for Foreign and
Commonwealth Affairs among others. We are committed to continuing
scrutiny of this significant deployment of UK Forces, and hope
to return to Iraq in the summer of 2009.
1 Third Report of Session 2003-04, Lessons of Iraq,
HC 57; Sixth Report of Session 2004-05, Iraq: An Initial Assessment
of Post-Conflict Operations, HC 65; Thirteenth Report of Session
2005-06, UK Operations in Iraq, HC 1241; First Report of
Session 2007-08, UK land operations in Iraq 2007, HC 110. Back
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