[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 636 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 636

   Recognizing the strategic success of the troop surge in Iraq and 
 expressing gratitude to the members of the United States Armed Forces 
                    who made that success possible.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 31, 2008

   Mr. Lieberman (for himself, Mr. Graham, Mr. McCain, Mr. Enzi, Mr. 
Martinez, Mr. Bond, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Allard, Mr. 
     Thune, Mr. Barrasso, and Mr. Inhofe) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Recognizing the strategic success of the troop surge in Iraq and 
 expressing gratitude to the members of the United States Armed Forces 
                    who made that success possible.

Whereas, by the end of 2006, it had become clear that, despite exceptional 
        efforts and sacrifices on the part of the United States Armed Forces in 
        Iraq, the United States was pursuing a failed strategy in Iraq;
Whereas, by the end of 2006, large-scale sectarian violence was accelerating 
        throughout Iraq, al Qaeda had established significant safe havens there, 
        militias sponsored by the Government of Iran had seized effective 
        control of large swaths of Iraq, and the Government of Iraq was 
        suffering from political paralysis;
Whereas, by the end of 2006, insurgents and death squads were killing more than 
        3,000 civilians in Iraq each month and coalition forces were sustaining 
        more than 1,200 attacks each week;
Whereas, in December 2006, the Iraq Study Group warned that ``the United States 
        is facing one of its most difficult and significant international 
        challenges in decades'' in Iraq and that ``Iraq is vital to regional and 
        even global stability, and is critical to U.S. interests'';
Whereas, in December 2004, Osama bin Laden said the following of the war in 
        Iraq: ``The most important and serious issue today for the whole world 
        is this Third World War. . . . The world's millstone and pillar is 
        Baghdad, the capital of the caliphate.'';
Whereas, on January 10, 2007, in an address to the Nation, President George W. 
        Bush acknowledged that the situation in Iraq was ``unacceptable'' and 
        announced his intention to put in place a new strategy, subsequently 
        known as ``the surge'';
Whereas President Bush nominated and the Senate confirmed General David H. 
        Petraeus as the Commander of Multi-National Forces--Iraq, a position he 
        assumed on February 10, 2007;
Whereas General Petraeus, upon assuming command, and in partnership with 
        Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, the Commander of Multi-National 
        Corps--Iraq, and United States Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, 
        developed a comprehensive civil-military counterinsurgency campaign plan 
        to reverse Iraq's slide into chaos, defeat the enemies of the United 
        States in Iraq, and, in partnership with the Iraqi Security Forces and 
        the Government of Iraq, reestablish security across the country;
Whereas, under the previous strategy, the overwhelming majority of United States 
        combat forces were concentrated on a small number of large forward 
        operating bases and were not assigned the mission of providing security 
        for the people of Iraq against insurgents, terrorists, and militia 
        fighters, in part because there were insufficient members of the United 
        States Armed Forces in Iraq to do so;
Whereas, as an integral component of the surge, approximately 5 additional 
        United States Army brigades and 2 United States Marine Corps battalions 
        were deployed to Iraq;
Whereas, as an integral component of the surge, members of the United States 
        Armed Forces were deployed out of large forward operating bases onto 
        small bases throughout Baghdad and other key population centers, 
        partnering with the Iraqi Security Forces to provide security for the 
        local population against insurgents, terrorists, and militia fighters;
Whereas additional members of the United States Armed Forces began moving into 
        Iraq in January 2007 and reached full strength in June 2007;
Whereas, as a consequence of the additional forces needed in Iraq, in April 2007 
        the United States Army added 3 months to the standard year-long tour for 
        all active duty soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the United States 
        Marine Corps added 3 months to the standard 6-month tour for all active 
        duty Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan;
Whereas, as an integral component of the surge, members of the United States 
        Armed Forces began simultaneous and successive offensive operations, in 
        partnership with the Iraqi Security Forces, of unprecedented breadth, 
        continuity, and sophistication, striking multiple enemy safe havens and 
        lines of communication at the same time;
Whereas, as an integral component of the surge, additional members of the United 
        States Armed Forces were deployed to Anbar province to provide essential 
        support to the nascent tribal revolt against al Qaeda in that province;
Whereas those additional members of the United States Armed Forces played a 
        critical role in the success and spread of anti-Qaeda Sunni tribal 
        groups in Anbar province and subsequently in other regions of Iraq;
Whereas, since the start of the surge in January 2007, there have been marked 
        and hopeful improvements in almost every political, security, and 
        economic indicator in Iraq;
Whereas, in 2007, General Petraeus described Iraq as ``the central front of al 
        Qaeda's global campaign'';
Whereas, in 2008, as a consequence of the success of the surge, al Qaeda has 
        been dealt what Director of Central Intelligence Michael Hayden assesses 
        as a ``near strategic defeat'' in Iraq;
Whereas, as a consequence of the success of the surge, militias backed by the 
        Government of Iran have been routed from major population centers in 
        Iraq and no longer control significant swaths of territory;
Whereas, as a consequence of the success of the surge, sectarian violence in 
        Iraq has fallen dramatically and has been almost entirely eliminated;
Whereas, as a consequence of the success of the surge, overall insurgent attacks 
        have fallen by approximately 80 percent since June 2007 and are at their 
        lowest level since March 2004;
Whereas, as a consequence of the success of the surge, United States casualties 
        in Iraq have dropped dramatically and United States combat deaths in 
        Iraq in July 2008 were lower than in any other month since the beginning 
        of the war;
Whereas, as a consequence of the success of the surge, the Government of Iraq 
        has made significant strides in advancing sectarian reconciliation and 
        achieving political progress, including the passage of key benchmark 
        legislation;
Whereas, as a consequence of the success of the surge, the Iraqi Security Forces 
        have improved markedly and approximately 70 percent of Iraqi combat 
        battalions are now leading operations in their areas; and
Whereas, as a consequence of the success of the surge, General Petraeus 
        concluded in 2008 that conditions on the ground in Iraq could permit the 
        additional brigades and battalions dispatched to Iraq in 2007 as part of 
        the surge to be safely redeployed without replacement, and all such 
        brigades and battalions have been successfully withdrawn without 
        replacement: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) commends and expresses its gratitude to the men and 
        women of the United States Armed Forces for the service, 
        sacrifices, and heroism that made the success of the troop 
        surge in Iraq possible;
            (2) commends and expresses its gratitude to General David 
        H. Petraeus, General Raymond Odierno, and Ambassador Ryan 
        Crocker for the distinguished wartime leadership that made the 
        success of the troop surge in Iraq possible;
            (3) recognizes the success of the troop surge in Iraq and 
        its strategic significance in advancing the vital national 
        interests of the United States in Iraq, the Middle East, and 
        the world, in particular as a strategic victory in a central 
        front of the war on terrorism; and
            (4) recognizes that the hard-won gains achieved as a result 
        of the troop surge in Iraq are significant but not yet 
        permanent and that it is imperative that no action be taken 
        that jeopardizes those gains or dishonors the service and 
        sacrifice of the men and women of the United States Armed 
        Forces who made those gains possible.
                                 <all>