[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 208 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 208

Chronicling the efforts of United States and Coalition forces to bring 
freedom, safety, and security to Iraq and recognizing the importance of 
           the ``surge strategy'' in completing that mission.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 4, 2009

Mr. King of Iowa (for himself, Mr. McHugh, Mr. Pence, Mr. McCotter, Mr. 
 Carter, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Sam 
   Johnson of Texas, Mr. Kline of Minnesota, Mr. Akin, Mr. Miller of 
 Florida, Mr. Rogers of Alabama, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Wittman, Ms. Fallin, 
  Mr. Hunter, Mr. Hensarling, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Cole, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. 
Shadegg, Mr. Pitts, Mrs. Schmidt, Mr. Gingrey of Georgia, Mr. Brady of 
  Texas, Mr. Westmoreland, Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. 
Radanovich, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Linder, Mr. McCaul, Ms. Foxx, Mr. Latta, Mr. 
Broun of Georgia, and Mrs. Lummis) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition 
 to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Chronicling the efforts of United States and Coalition forces to bring 
freedom, safety, and security to Iraq and recognizing the importance of 
           the ``surge strategy'' in completing that mission.

Whereas, on October 11, 2002, the House of Representatives passed H.J. Res. 114, 
        Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, 
        authorizing the President to use military force to ``defend the national 
        security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by 
        Iraq'' and ``to enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council 
        resolutions against Iraq'';
Whereas, on March 17, 2003, President George W. Bush gave Saddam Hussein and his 
        sons, Uday and Qusay, an ultimatum to leave Iraq within 48 hours to 
        avoid war;
Whereas in providing the rationale for this ultimatum, President Bush pointed to 
        the universal consensus of intelligence gathered by the United States 
        and other governments which concluded Iraq continued to develop, 
        possess, and conceal weapons of mass destruction and the means to 
        deliver them; the threat posed to the United States and other countries 
        by the growing threat of chemical, biological or nuclear terrorist 
        attacks launched by or in collusion with the Hussein regime; the failure 
        of peaceful efforts to disarm the Iraqi regime; the unanimously approved 
        United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441, which found that Iraq 
        ``has been and remains in material breach of its obligations under 
        relevant resolutions, including resolution 687, in particular through 
        Iraq's failure to cooperate with United Nations inspectors and the IAEA, 
        and to complete the [disarmament] actions required under paragraphs 8 to 
        13 of resolution 687''; the Hussein regime's use of weapons of mass 
        destruction against Iraq's neighbors and against Iraq's people; the 
        regime's history of reckless aggression in the Middle East; the aid, 
        training, and harbor the regime had given to terrorists, including 
        operatives of Al Qaeda; the United States Congress' overwhelming vote on 
        October 11, 2002, to support the use of force in Iraq; the need to 
        disarm Saddam Hussein in order to diminish the terrorist and security 
        threat to America and the world; and the United States of America's 
        sovereign authority to use force in assuring its own national security;
Whereas, on March 19, 2003, after Saddam Hussein and his sons refused to leave 
        Iraq, the United States led an international coalition military force in 
        launching Operation Iraqi Freedom to disarm and topple the Hussein 
        regime, bring freedom to the people of Iraq, and establish a democratic 
        government in Iraq capable of defending and sustaining itself and acting 
        as an ally in the War on Terror;
Whereas the Hussein regime was toppled on or about April 9, 2003;
Whereas a Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was subsequently established in 
        Iraq to provide governance and to facilitate the transition of Iraq into 
        a democracy capable of providing its own internal security, sustaining 
        itself, and acting as an ally in the War on Terror;
Whereas from March 19, 2003 to the present time, the United States and Coalition 
        Forces from 39 countries have engaged many enemies on the battlefields 
        of Iraq, including the ``Fedayeen Saddam'' and other militias loyal to 
        Saddam and the Baathist resistance; various localized Sunni militias 
        providing protection to certain Sunni neighborhoods and population 
        groups; terrorist organizations, including Al Qaeda in Iraq; Shiite 
        militias, including Moqtada Al Sadr's Mahdi Army; Shiite vigilante 
        groups acting much like their Sunni counterparts; Iranian supported 
        Shiite groups, including the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in 
        Iraq's Badr Corps; and members of, as well as forces trained and 
        supplied by, the Qods Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and other 
        Iranian agents;
Whereas, on December 28, 2004, Al Qaeda released an audio message from Osama Bin 
        Laden in which he stated, ``The most important and serious issue today 
        for the world is this Third World War ... . It is raging in the land of 
        the two rivers [Iraq]. The world's millstone and pillar is in Baghdad, 
        the capital of the caliphate.'' He said ``the whole world is watching 
        this war,'' and it will end in ``victory and glory or misery and 
        humiliation.'';
Whereas by December 2006, the security situation in Iraq had severely 
        deteriorated largely as the result of increased Sunni-Shiite sectarian 
        violence sparked by the February 22, 2006, bombing by Al Qaeda in Iraq 
        of the Askariya Shitte mosque in Samarra and fueled by the many violent 
        acts that followed which were perpetrated by Al Qaeda in Iraq and the 
        various other sectarian and political enemy groups competing for power 
        and attempting to defeat United States and coalition forces in Iraq;
Whereas in their report, The Way Forward--A New Approach, the members of the 
        Iraq Study Group stated they could ``support a short-term redeployment 
        or surge of American combat forces to stabilize Baghdad, or to speed up 
        the training and equipping mission, if the United States commander in 
        Iraq determines that such steps would be effective'';
Whereas as a result of the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, President 
        Bush announced ``A New Way Forward'', on January 10, 2007, which called 
        for a surge of 28,500 American troops into Iraq to execute new counter 
        insurgency strategies, as outlined in FM 3-24 Counterinsurgency, under 
        the command of that document's principal author, General David Petraeus;
Whereas President Bush showed great leadership, judgment, and fortitude as 
        commander in chief in ordering the adoption of the ``surge strategy'', 
        despite being counseled by some of his top military advisors not to 
        pursue the troop build up;
Whereas the goal of the ``surge strategy'' was to increase the size of the 
        American military force on the ground in Iraq to secure the Iraqi 
        population by killing or capturing the terrorists and militia who had 
        unleashed the destructive wave of violence in Iraq since 2006, and to 
        move American forces into Iraqi neighborhoods to partner with Iraqi 
        civilians and security forces in clearing those neighborhoods of enemy 
        forces and maintaining security control to hold those areas once 
        cleared;
Whereas President Bush and General Petraeus, among others, believed that by 
        increasing the size of the American force in Iraq and following the 
        counter-insurgency tactics developed in FM 3-24 Counterinsurgency, 
        United States and Coalition forces, working with Iraqi Security Forces, 
        could bring safety and security to the Iraqi people; provide the time 
        necessary to train and equip Iraqi Security Forces, of which there are 
        now more than 613,000; and provide the Iraqi Government with the stable 
        security environment needed to bring about the reconciliation necessary 
        to establish that government's relevance and authority throughout the 
        country;
Whereas one of the first signs of the success of the ``surge strategy'' was the 
        development of the Sunni ``Awakening,'' in which Sunni tribal leaders in 
        Anbar Province responded to, and allied themselves with, United States 
        military and Coalition forces in turning against Al Qaeda in Iraq;
Whereas some of the most dangerous streets in the world have become peaceful 
        centers of commerce;
Whereas Anbar Province, where Marines have been stationed throughout much of the 
        war and which was once one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq, has been 
        pacified to the point at which on January 23, 2009, General James 
        Conway, the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, explained that 
        the combat portion of the Iraq war is effectively over, stating ``The 
        time is right for Marines in general terms to leave Iraq.'';
Whereas the mayor of Fallujah has declared the city to be a ``city of peace'';
Whereas since implementing the President's ``surge strategy'' in Iraq, civilian 
        deaths have dropped by more than 90 percent since December 2006, to 
        levels not seen since 2004;
Whereas President Bush's adoption of the ``surge strategy'' has made Iraq a 
        safer place for American troops;
Whereas since July 1, 2008, more American troops in Iraq have been killed in 
        accidents than by the enemy;
Whereas the surge strategy has delivered a significant defeat to the terrorist 
        and militia organizations that once controlled vast areas of Iraq and 
        were responsible for the formerly high levels of violence in Iraq;
Whereas, on May 25, 2008, Ryan Crocker, the United States Ambassador to Iraq, 
        stated that Al Qaeda in Iraq ``has never been closer to defeat'' and on 
        July 25, 2008, said that the Sunni insurgency, writ large, is ``not much 
        of a challenge any more'' to Iraq's future;
Whereas ethno-sectarian violence has diminished significantly, falling 98 
        percent from its highest monthly death toll of 2,086, recorded for 
        December of 2006;
Whereas the security of the International Zone in Baghdad (the Green Zone) was 
        transferred to the Iraqi Security Forces on January 1, 2009;
Whereas 13 of Iraq's 18 provinces are now entirely the responsibility and under 
        the control of Iraqi Security Forces;
Whereas the self-evident fact that al Qaeda in Iraq has been defeated as a 
        military force, a fact that has become clear over the past year, 
        beginning with statements made by Abu-Tariq, a local Al Qaeda leader 
        near Balad, in a letter captured by American forces in early 2008. In 
        the letter, Abu-Tariq states that as a result of the Sunni Awakening 
        that followed the implementation of the ``surge strategy'', ``The 
        Americans and the apostates launched their campaigns against us and we 
        found ourselves in a circle not being able to move, organize or conduct 
        our operations ... . This created weakness and psychological defeat. 
        This also created panic, fear and the unwillingness to fight. The morale 
        of the fighters went down ... . There was a total collapse in the 
        security structure of the organization.'';
Whereas 17 of the 18 benchmarks, established by Congress and signed into law on 
        May 25, 2007, by President Bush as part of H.R. 2206, the United States 
        Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq 
        Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007, to provide for an objective 
        analysis of progress toward reconciliation and self-governance by the 
        Iraqi Government have been substantially or completely met since the 
        ``surge strategy'' was adopted;
Whereas one of the most important benchmarks was recently met when new 
        provincial elections were held successfully in Iraq on January 31, 2009;
Whereas the final unmet benchmark, increasing Iraqi Security Force units' 
        capability of operating independently, requires a continued United 
        States presence to ensure full attainment in the future;
Whereas, on February 4, 2009, Ambassador Ryan Crocker stressed the importance of 
        a continued United States presence in Iraq when he said ``Iraq's 
        development will be a long-term project, requiring the long-term 
        strategic commitment of the United States'';
Whereas there have been two legitimate, nationwide elections in Iraq on January 
        30, 2005, and on December 15, 2005;
Whereas the Iraqis, on October 15, 2005, by popular vote, ratified their 
        constitution, which establishes the Rule of Law in Iraq; and
Whereas the ``surge strategy'' has ushered in a level of safety and security in 
        Iraq such that the United States and the Government of Iraq were able to 
        sign a Status of Forces Agreement on November 17, 2008, and which took 
        effect on January 1, 2009, that continues the transfer of security 
        responsibilities within Iraq to Iraqi forces and provides for the 
        withdrawal of United States forces from Iraq in 36 months by the end of 
        2011: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
        the surge strategy articulated by President Bush as part of A 
        New Way Forward has succeeded in providing security and 
        stability to the Iraqi people, addressing the threat posed to 
        the Government of Iraq and the continued existence of a unified 
        and independent country of Iraq by terrorist organizations and 
        sectarian militias, and facilitating the opportunity for the 
        Government of Iraq to make the decisions necessary for national 
        reconciliation and governance to occur; and
            (2) the House of Representatives--
                    (A) recognizes the enormous sacrifices made by the 
                men and women of the United States and Coalition forces 
                from 39 countries to secure the successes gained in 
                Iraq and thanks these heroes for their courage, 
                nobility, and sacrifice to defend freedom and defeat 
                our enemies;
                    (B) extends its gratitude to all those within the 
                military and civilian departments and agencies of the 
                United States Government responsible for directing the 
                implementation of the ``surge strategy,'' including 
                General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker;
                    (C) recognizes the importance and significance of 
                victory in the Iraqi theater of the larger, global 
                struggle against radical, Islamic Jihadist terrorists; 
                and
                    (D) commits itself to working with President Obama 
                and his administration to continue the progress that 
                has been made on the ground in Iraq since the ``surge 
                strategy'' was implemented, recognizing that a 
                definable victory has been achieved in Iraq and that 
                history will judge President Bush's successor by his 
                ability to maintain his predecessor's victory.
                                 <all>