III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 2 

Expressing the bipartisan resolution on Iraq. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 17, 2007 

Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. LEVIN, and Ms. SNOWE) submitted 

the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Relations 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Expressing the bipartisan resolution on Iraq. 

Whereas the United States strategy and presence on the 

ground in Iraq can only be sustained with the support of 

the American people and bipartisan support from Congress; 

Whereas maximizing chances of success in Iraq should be our 

goal, and the best chance of success requires a change in 

current strategy; 

Whereas the situation in Iraq is damaging the standing, influence, and interests of the United States in Iraq, the 

Middle East, and around the world; 

Whereas more than 137,000 United States military personnel 

are bravely and honorably serving in Iraq and deserve the 

support of all Americans; 


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Whereas more than 3,000 United States military personnel 

have already lost their lives in Iraq, and more than 

22,500 have been wounded in Iraq; 

Whereas on January 10, 2007, President George W. Bush 

announced his plan to deepen the United States military 

involvement in Iraq by deploying approximately 21,000 

additional United States combat forces to Iraq; 

Whereas Iraq is witnessing widening sectarian and intra-sectarian violence; 

Whereas Iraqis must reach a political settlement if there is 

going to be a reconciliation in Iraq, and the failure of the 

Iraqis to achieve such a settlement has led to the increase 

in violence in Iraq; 

Whereas Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stated on November 27, 2006, that ‘‘[t]he crisis is political, and the 

ones who can stop the cycle of aggravation and bloodletting of innocents are the politicians.’’; 

Whereas an open-ended commitment of United States forces 

in Iraq is unsustainable and a deterrent to the Iraqis 

making the political compromises and providing the personnel and resources that are needed for violence to end 

and for stability and security to be achieved in Iraq; 

Whereas the responsibility for internal security and halting 

sectarian violence in Iraq must rest primarily with the 

Government of Iraq and Iraqi security forces; 

Whereas there have been repeated promises by the Government of Iraq to assume a greater share of security responsibilities, disband militias, consider amendments to 

the Iraq constitution, enact laws to reconcile sectarian 

differences, and improve the quality of life for the Iraqi 

people, but those promises have not been kept; 


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Whereas a successful strategy in Iraq is dependent upon the 

Iraqi leaders fulfilling their promises; 

Whereas the commander of the United States Central Command, General John Abizaid, testified to Congress on 

November 15, 2006, that ‘‘[i]t’s easy for the Iraqis to 

rely upon us to do this work. I believe that more American forces prevent the Iraqis from taking more responsibility for their own future’’; 

Whereas the Iraq Study Group suggested a comprehensive 

strategy to ‘‘enable the United States to begin to move 

its combat forces out of Iraq responsibly’’ based on ‘‘new 

and enhanced diplomatic and political efforts in Iraq and 

the region’’; 

Whereas the United States Army and Marine Corps, including their Reserves and the Army National Guard, their 

personnel, and their families, are under enormous strain 

from multiple, extended deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan; 

Whereas the majority of nondeployed Army and Marine 

Corps units are no longer combat ready due to a lack of 

equipment and insufficient time to train; and 

Whereas the United States strategy in Iraq must not compromise the ability of the United States to address other 

vital national security priorities, in particular global terror networks, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regional stability in the Middle East, the nuclear 

program of Iran, the nuclear weapons of North Korea, 

and stability and security in Afghanistan: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 (1) it is not in the national interest of the 

2 United States to deepen its military involvement in 

3 Iraq, particularly by escalating the United States 

4 military force presence in Iraq; 

5 (2) the primary objective of United States 

6 strategy in Iraq should be to have the Iraqi political 

7 leaders make the political compromises necessary to 

8 end the violence in Iraq; 

9 (3) greater concerted regional, and inter10 national support would assist the Iraqis in achieving 

11 a political solution and national reconciliation; 

12 (4) main elements of the mission of United 

13 States forces in Iraq should transition to helping en14 sure the territorial integrity of Iraq, conduct 

15 counterterrorism activities, reduce regional inter16 ference in the internal affairs of Iraq, and accelerate 

17 training of Iraqi troops; 

18 (5) the United States should transfer, under an 

19 appropriately expedited timeline, responsibility for 

20 internal security and halting sectarian violence in 

21 Iraq to the Government of Iraq and Iraqi security 

22 forces; and 

23 (6) the United States should engage nations in 

24 the Middle East to develop a regional, internationVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:27 Jan 18, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SC2.IS SC2

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1 ally-sponsored peace and reconciliation process for 

2 Iraq. 

Æ 


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