At the very least one can say that the insurgents did not make a decisive mark on election day. All this has left one observer, the former British representative to the Coalition Authority, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, a little less worried.

"This went better than we expected or feared," he said. "It is a huge step, it legitimises the political process and moves away from perceived American control to put matters firmly under Iraqi control. It is a terrific step. The violence will continue but it did not dent the determination of Iraqis to vote. The Sunni problem remains however and must be addressed."

-- news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4222139.stm

By Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor
March 26, 2004

Tony Blair’s special envoy to Iraq has refused the Prime Minister’s request that he extend his stay in Baghdad, leaving Britain with no influential voice at the top of the American-led coalition at a time when thousands of British troops remain in the country. Sir Jeremy Greenstock, one of Britain’s most distinguished diplomats, will return home at the end of his six-month tour of duty next week, depriving Mr Blair of a key player in the deliberations over Iraq’s future at a critical moment.

Sir Jeremy, 60, who served as Britain’s representative to the United Nations, was intimately involved in the passage of Iraq’s postwar constitution, signed this month. It had been hoped that he would stay on to smooth the return of the UN to Iraq, and to prepare for the handover of power to an Iraqi government on July 1 and electionswhich are planned for next January. British officials said that, in spite of a personal request from the Prime Minister to extend his stay, Sir Jeremy remained adamant that he wanted to come home. He is due to take over as director of the Ditchley Park conference centre in Oxfordshire.

Britain is the second-largest member of the coalition in Iraq. It contributes nearly 10,000 troops, hundreds of officials and has pledged millions of pounds to the country’s reconstruction. But its influence on policymaking has been gradually eclipsed by America’s dominant role. Sir Jeremy’s departure is likely to hasten that trend. He will be replaced by David Richmond, a wellrespected Arabist and veteran diplomat who has been in Iraq for most of the past year. Foreign And Commonwealth Office officials insist that he has the full confidence of the Prime Minister, even though he is more than ten years younger than Sir Jeremy and far more junior in the diplomatic hierarchy.

British officials who are working alongside Americans in the coalition fear that Sir Jeremy’s departure will diminish their ability to influence decision-making. “We are going from a four-star general to a one-star general,” one British official in Baghdad said. “Our influence here will be greatly reduced when Greenstock goes.” Another British source in Baghdad said that Sir Jeremy had had an uneasy working relationship with Paul Bremer, the US administrator in Iraq, who deliberately never made the British envoy his deputy. “It is fair to say that there were strains in the relationship,” the official said. “But, because Jeremy is who he is, he was able to get our point of view across. He always brought something to the table.”

The British have prided themselves on bringing experience and pragmatism to decision-making, often clashing with ideologically motivated American colleagues. “We may only have one tenth of the American commitment here, but our views have always been listened to, while Jeremy was here. He made it a point that the British voice was heard. That may no longer be the case when he goes,” the official said.

Already Britain’s role in running Iraq is far less visible than even a few months ago. The British still dominate the administration and security in Basra, Iraq’s second city, where British forces are based, but in Baghdad, British influence is far less noticeable than before. Charles Heatley, a British diplomat and the former coalition spokesman, left Baghdad in January and the public face of the coalition is now almost exclusively American.

British staff dominate the human rights section, responsible for preparing war crimes trials and excavating mass graves. But their role may be eclipsed by the arrival of scores of experts from the US Justice Department, who have been told by President Bush to take over the portfolio. But it is in the key political field that Britain’s contribution may be missed the most. Over the next three months decisions will be taken that will determine Iraq’s fate.

Two UN delegations, one headed by Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy, and the other by Carina Perelli, the head of the UN electoral unit, are due in Baghdad just as Sir Jeremy is leaving. Mr Brahimi’s mission is to resolve who will form the caretaker government after June 30. Señora Perelli is to build the infrastructure for general elections in nine months’ time. A senior Iraqi official said that Sir Jeremy’s experience at the UN and in Iraq would be greatly missed.