[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.
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