Iraq (Hansard, 19 July 2004)

§ Harry Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the bounty payment in respect of the capture of Saddam Hussein; what the source of the bounty money was; what advice Coalition partners received about the legality of the bounty; and if he will make a statement. [183437]

§ Mr. Rammell
The US Government offered a reward for information leading to the capture of Saddam Hussein under the State Department Rewards for Justice programme. Details of this programme are on the US State Department website: www.state.gov. The legal basis of these rewards is a matter for the US Government.

§ Harry Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the United Kingdom's representative in Iraq has had about the bounty for the capture of the Jordanian militant, Zarqawi; what the sources of the money for the bounty is; what advice was taken by Coalition partners about the legality of any such bounty; and if he will make a statement. [183439]

§ Mr. Rammell
The US Government offered rewards for information leading to the capture of Saddam and Zarqawi under the State Department's Rewards for Justice programme. Details of this programme are on the US State Department website: www.state.gov. The legal basis of these rewards is a matter for the US Government. Our ambassador to Iraq regularly discusses a wide range of issues on Iraq with his interlocutors.

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on terrorist attacks in Iraq. [184123]

§ Mr. Rammell
Terrorism has not derailed the transition of power to the new Iraqi Interim Government which took office on 28 June, although64W attacks have continued. The most significant of these in recent days was on 14 July when a terrorist car bomb killed nine Iraqis queuing to enter the international zone, and there has also been an increase in terrorist activity in Samarra. Internal security is now the responsibility of the IIG supported by the Multinational Force (MNF) in accordance with UNSCR 1546. The IIG is determined to tackle terrorism, and Iraqi security forces have been engaged in a number of successful operations in Baghdad and elsewhere. The Iraqi authorities are also committed to building up its counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency forces. We continue to be engaged in supporting these efforts.

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the projected daily output of Iraqi oil is(a) for the rest of 2004 and (b) for 2005. [184266]

§ Mr. Rammell
The Iraqi authorities have responsibility for setting their own oil production targets. Iraq has a target of increasing its daily output of oil to 2.8–3.0 million barrels by the end of 2004. The Iraqi authorities will aim to ensure sustainable increases in production for 2005 and for subsequent years, to a level that is commensurate with their economic and other developmental needs.

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what Iraq's latest daily oil output is. [184267]

§ Mr. Rammell
Over the period 2–8 July, the most recent for which data is available, Iraq's daily average oil production was 2.122 million barrels per day.

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the current size is of the Iraqi army; and what the forecast size is for July 2005. [184273]

§ Mr. Rammell
According to statistics provided by the Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I) the projected strength for the Iraqi Army is 36,000 personnel. At present, it numbers 7,116 with a further 2,638 currently under training. The aim is for the army to reach full operational capability by January 2005.
These figures do not include the Iraqi National Guard (ING), formerly the Iraq Civil Defence Corps. It currently numbers 38,000 and is due to reach 50,000 by December 2004. The ING has officially been subsumed into the Iraqi armed forces but is a distinct entity from the regular army.

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in negotiations with other countries to which Iraq owes money on the Iraqi debt. [184338]

§ Mr. Rammell
The UK's objective is a fair and sustainable solution to Iraq's debt problems. The G7 is united in agreeing that Iraq's debt is unsustainable and that Iraq needs substantial debt reduction. Many other creditors have associated themselves with this analysis. The Government are continuing to discuss this issue with creditors, including with those in the Paris Club.