[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 118 (Thursday, August 5, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6908-S6909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 616--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 INTEGRITY, RESOURCEFULNESS, 
                       COMMITMENT, AND SACRIFICE

  Mr. BURR submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 616

       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

[[Page S6909]]

     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
       Resolved, 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.

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