III 111th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 616 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES August 5, 2010 Mr. Burr submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States civil-military partnership in Iraq, under the current leadership of General Raymond Odierno and Ambassador Christopher Hill, has refined and sustained an effective counterinsurgency and counterterrorism strategy that has enabled significant improvements in the security, governance, and rule of law throughout Iraq, and that these leaders should be commended for their ingenuity, resourcefulness, courage, commitment, and sacrifice.

Whereas members of the United States Armed Forces will end their combat mission in Iraq on August 31, 2010, and retain a transitional force of up to 50,000 troops to train and advise the Iraqi Security Forces, conduct partnered and targeted counterterrorism operations, and protect ongoing United States civilian and military efforts; Whereas, on August 31, 2010, Operation Iraqi Freedom will end and a transitional mission called Operation New Dawn will begin, and the nature of the United States commitment in Iraq will shift from one led by the military to one that is civilian-led, with the military in a supporting and reinforcing role; Whereas the transitional force will retain sufficient combat power and continue to support Iraqi Security Forces, and the civilian force will strengthen the partnership between the Governments of the United States and Iraq in fields such as education, the rule of law, trade, and technology; Whereas the United States is fully committed and will remain committed to the security and stability of Iraq and the Middle East region; Whereas the ongoing reduction of United States combat and combat support units from Iraq and the conclusion of United States-led, direct support and combat operations provides an opportunity to recognize and honor the important contributions of the United States Armed Forces and the critical civilian agency support that have enabled the Iraqi Security Forces to take the lead in conducting security and stability operations across the 18 provinces of Iraq; Whereas the surge of United States military units into Iraq in 2007 and 2008 was instrumental in seizing the initiative from insurgent and terrorist elements and providing the space and time for the development of the Iraqi Security Forces and the establishment of governmental, political, and economic capacity at the local level; Whereas the meticulous and persistent contributions of the United States military and civilian leadership under General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker contributed greatly to the successful build up of the Iraqi Security Forces and the development of stable governance in Iraq; Whereas, in June 2006, the Iraqi Security Forces numbered approximately 152,000 and due to the subsequent deployment and employment of critical United States Military Transition Teams, Border Transition Teams, and Police Transition Teams and the extensive partnering of additional United States military units with Iraqi units, the total Iraqi Security Forces grew from approximately 559,000 in May 2008 to reach approximately 665,000 in August of 2010; Whereas the ongoing security and stability provided by the partnership between the United States Armed Forces and Iraqi Security Forces has allowed United States Provincial Reconstruction Teams, embedded with United States military units and working alongside Iraqis at the local and provincial levels, to have facilitated thousands of reconstruction projects across Iraq that provide necessary access to capital and subject matter expertise for the repair of petroleum production facilities and desalination plants, expansion of electrical generation and telecommunications networks, building of schools, initiation of agricultural projects, spurring of Iraqi-owned businesses, and the attracting of foreign investment to improve the infrastructure of Iraq; Whereas improved communication and coordination between the Government of Iraq in Baghdad, the Provincial Governors, and local political and tribal leaders has helped foster legitimate political alliances that, while still fragile, have exhibited the resiliency and potential for the resolution of conflicts through civil discourse, rather than violence; Whereas the security situation in Iraq has improved markedly since 2007, and while it remains uneven and violent attacks by anti-government elements persist, the frequency of these attacks and the resources available to the insurgents and terrorists have declined to such an extent that the Government of Iraq remains capable and secure; and Whereas these positive developments and trends are evidence of the success of the United States civil-military strategy in Iraq and are essential to the ongoing reduction of United States military forces from the current troop levels of approximately 64,000 to approximately 50,000 combat and combat support troops by September 1, 2010, further signaling a robust and ongoing commitment to advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces, while retaining the ability to respond in direct support of Iraqi Security Forces when necessary and to conduct counterterrorism operations against insurgent and terrorist elements: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of the Senate that— (1)the counterinsurgency and counterterrorism strategies of the United States initiated in 2006 and sustained from 2007 until the present day have successfully enabled the Government of Iraq to reach major milestones in the critical areas of security, governance, and rule of law and have set the conditions for the responsible and gradual reduction of United States combat and combat support units from Iraq and the change of their mission to advising and assisting the Iraqi Security Forces; (2)United States Forces-Iraq was instrumental in effecting the recruitment, training, retention, and employment of approximately 700,000 Iraqi Security Forces who have assumed and maintained the lead for security operations within the 18 provinces of Iraq; and (3)United States commanders, their troops, their civilian partners in the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Defense, Federal contractors, and the Provincial Reconstruction Teams should be commended for their ingenuity, resourcefulness, courage, commitment, and sacrifice and their continued dedication and service to the United States.