07-F-2108 DOC 08 DoD Iraq Support Group

DRAFT 12/20/2004 2:08 PM August 18, 2004 MEMORANDUM FOR SECRETARY OF DEFENSE SUBJECT: DoD Iraq Support Group The transition from the Coalition Provisional Authority to the US Embassy in Iraq is now complete, and the DoD element of the Interagency Transition Planning Team is preparing an after action report and other closing requirements. We now tum to future requirements concerning support to Iraq. The level of cooperation and collaboration among the OSD staff, the State Department, and the military on OPLAN SOVEREIGN IRAQ and its Memoranda of Agreement was unprecedented. The time that LTG(R) Kicklighter spent in Baghdad visibly demonstrated the value of that planning. The June 28 turnover of sovereignty and stand up of U.S. Mission Iraq now requires some realignment of organizations involved in managing/monitoring Iraq issues. • CPA dissolved on June 28, however, there is a continuing need within DoD for some of the monitoring functions being done in Washington, e.g. infrastructure, essential services, security forces. DRAFT 12/20/2004 2:08PM • The DoD Interagency Transition Planning Team fulfilled its stated charter with the turnover, but transition is a process, not a point in time. In some areas the hardest work is yet to come. The Department will need to capture certain capabilities of both of these organizations to ensure the leadership receives accurate and timely information and Baghdad receives required support. The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy is developing a proposal for Iraq oversight with a view toward longer term organizational needs. In the near term, recommend that the relevant elements of what was CPA- Washington and the ITPT merge in order to retain crucial institutional knowledge, maintain the momentum achieved during the transition planning process and become the OSD focal point on issues related to the US Mission- perhaps becoming an entity entitled the DoD Iraq Support Group (ISG). This would retain continuity and provide a single point of contact to coordinate the eventual assumption of the oversight function. The timeline for phasing out this operation could be any mutually agreed point- such as the end of September 2004 or following the Iraqi elections in January 2005- whatever best serves the DoD leadership and Components. DRAFT 12/20/2004 2:08 PM The Washington Headquarters Services would provide the resources to support the ISG, including funding, office space and equipment. The Group would report to the Deputy Secretary and the Secretary, and would continue to coordinate closely with the Senior Special Assistants to the Deputy Secretary and the Secretary, the Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary and the Director, Administration and Management. At some time in the future, the ISG may combine with the reach-back office for Afghanistan to form a single group that would focus support for US interests in the Near East in a single organization. The need for such an office will be continually evaluated, particularly at key milestones such as the Iraqi elections in December 2004/January 2005, the Constitutional referendum scheduled for October 2005 and the permanent elections at the end of calendar year 2005. s/Dubois