II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 433 

To state United States policy for Iraq, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 30, 2007 

Mr. OBAMA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To state United States policy for Iraq, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Iraq War De-Esca5 lation Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 (1) Congress and the Nation honor the courage, 

10 sacrifices, and efforts of the members of the Armed 

11 Forces of the United States and their families. 


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1 (2) In his speech to the Nation on January 10, 

2 2007, President George W. Bush said that ‘‘I’ve 

3 made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq’s other 

4 leaders that America’s commitment is not open5 ended. If the Iraqi government does not follow 

6 through on its promises, it will lose the support of 

7 the American people. . . The Prime Minister under8 stands this’’. 

9 (3) In that speech, President George W. Bush 

10 also told the Nation that ‘‘America will hold the 

11 Iraqi government to the benchmarks it has an12 nounced. . . [T]o take responsibility for security in 

13 all of Iraq’s provinces by November. To give every 

14 Iraqi citizen a stake in the country’s economy, Iraq 

15 will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all 

16 Iraqis. To show that it is committed to delivering a 

17 better life, the Iraqi government will spend 

18 $10,000,000,000 of its own money on reconstruction 

19 and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs. 

20 To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold provin21 cial elections later this year. And to allow more 

22 Iraqis to re-enter their nation’s political life, the gov23 ernment will reform de-Baathification laws, and es24 tablish a fair process for considering amendments to 

25 Iraq’s constitution’’. 


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1 (4) In that speech, President George W. Bush 

2 also told the Nation that ‘‘only Iraqis can end the 

3 sectarian violence and secure their people’’. 

4 (5) On December 18, 2006, former Secretary of 

5 State Colin Powell stated: ‘‘[s]o we have tried this 

6 surge of troops over the summer. I am not per7 suaded that another surge of troops in Baghdad for 

8 the purpose of suppressing this communitarian vio9 lence, this civil war, will work’’. 

10 (6) On November 15, 2006, General John 

11 Abizaid, Commander of the United States Central 

12 Command, stated before the Committee on Armed 

13 Services of the Senate that ‘‘I met with every divi14 sional commander, General Casey, the corps com15 mander, General Dempsey. We all talked together. 

16 And I said, in your professional opinion, if we were 

17 to bring in more American troops now, does it add 

18 considerably to our ability to achieve success in 

19 Iraq? And they all said no. And the reason is, be20 cause we want the Iraqis to do more. It’s easy for 

21 the Iraqis to rely upon us to do this work. I believe 

22 that more American forces prevent the Iraqis from 

23 doing more, from taking more responsibility for their 

24 own future’’. 


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1 (7) In testimony before the Committee on For2 eign Relations of the Senate on January 11, 2007, 

3 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated that un4 less the Government of Iraq has met certain bench5 marks and reestablishes the confidence of the Iraqi 

6 people over the next several months, ‘‘this plan is 

7 not going to work’’. 

8 (8) In a statement on January 11, 2007, Sec9 retary of Defense Robert Gates stated ‘‘[a]nd we will 

10 probably have a better view a couple of months from 

11 now in terms of whether we are making headway in 

12 terms of getting better control of Baghdad, with the 

13 Iraqis in the lead and with the Iraqis beginning to 

14 make better progress on the reconciliation process’’. 

15 (9) The bipartisan Iraq Study Group headed by 

16 former Secretary of State James Baker and former 

17 Representative Lee Hamilton reached a bipartisan 

18 consensus on 79 separate recommendations for a 

19 new approach in Iraq. Among those recommenda20 tions were calling for a new diplomatic offensive in 

21 the region and conditioning American economic as22 sistance to Iraq on specific benchmarks, with the ex23 pectation that ‘‘by the first quarter of 2008, subject 

24 to unexpected developments in the security situation 


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1 on the ground, all combat brigades not necessary for 

2 force protection could be out of Iraq’’. 

3 (10) In reaction to the speech of President 

4 George W. Bush of January 10, 2007, former Sec5 retary of State Baker and former Representative 

6 Hamilton wrote that ‘‘[t]he President did not sug7 gest the possibility of a transition that could enable 

8 U.S. combat forces to begin to leave Iraq. The Presi9 dent did not state that political, military, or eco10 nomic support for Iraq would be conditional on the 

11 Iraq government’s ability to meet benchmarks. With12 in the region, the President did not announce an 

13 international support group for Iraq including all of 

14 Iraq’s neighbors. . .’’. 

15 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol16 lows: 

17 (1) To formulate and provide for the implemen18 tation of an effective United States policy towards 

19 Iraq and the Middle East region that employs mili20 tary, political, diplomatic, and economic assets to 

21 promote and protect the national security interests 

22 of the United States. 

23 (2) To provide for the implementation of a re24 sponsible, phased redeployment of the Armed Forces 

25 of the United States from Iraq in a substantial and 


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1 gradual manner that places the highest priority on 

2 protecting the lives of members of the Armed Forces 

3 and civilian personnel of the United States and on 

4 promoting the national security interests of the 

5 United States in the Middle East region. 

6 (3) To urge the political parties and leaders of 

7 Iraq to reach the political solution necessary to pro8 mote stability in Iraq and enhance the safety of in9 nocent Iraqi civilians. 

10 (4) To condition future economic assistance to 

11 the Government of Iraq on significant progress to12 ward the achievement of political and economic 

13 measures to be taken by the Government of Iraq. 

14 (5) To provide for the initiation of a wider and 

15 sustained diplomatic strategy aimed at promoting a 

16 political settlement in Iraq, thereby ending the civil 

17 war in Iraq, preventing a humanitarian catastrophe 

18 in Iraq, and preventing a wider regional conflict. 

19 (6) To provide, through sections 4 through 7, 

20 for the implementation of key recommendations of 

21 the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel of experts 

22 co-chaired by former Secretary of State James 

23 Baker and former Representative Lee Hamilton. 


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1 SEC. 3. APPROPRIATE FORCE LEVELS FOR UNITED STATES 

2 MILITARY FORCES IN IRAQ. 

3 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the levels 

4 of the Armed Forces of the United States in Iraq after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act shall not exceed the 

6 levels of such forces in Iraq as of January 10, 2007, with7 out specific authority in statute enacted by Congress after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 4. REDEPLOYMENT OF UNITED STATES MILITARY 

10 FORCES FROM IRAQ. 

11 (a) REDEPLOYMENT.— 

12 (1) DEADLINE FOR COMMENCEMENT OF REDE13 PLOYMENT.—Except as otherwise provided in this 

14 section, the phased redeployment of the Armed 

15 Forces of the United States from Iraq shall com16 mence not later than May 1, 2007. 

17 (2) SCOPE AND MANNER OF REDEPLOYMENT.— 

18 The redeployment of the Armed Forces under this 

19 section shall be substantial, shall occur in a gradual 

20 manner, and shall be executed at a pace to achieve 

21 the goal of the complete redeployment of all United 

22 States combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 

23 2008, consistent with the expectation of the Iraq 

24 Study Group, if all the matters set forth in sub25 section (b)(1)(B) are not met by such date, subject 

26 to the exceptions for retention of forces for force 


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1 protection, counter-terrorism operations, training of 

2 Iraqi forces, and other purposes as contemplated by 

3 subsection (g). 

4 (3) FORMULATION OF PLAN WITH MILITARY

5 COMMANDERS.—The redeployment of the Armed 

6 Forces under this section should be conducted pur7 suant to a plan formulated by United States military 

8 commanders that is developed, if practicable, in con9 sultation with the Government of Iraq. 

10 (4) PROTECTION OF UNITED STATES FORCES

11 AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL.—In carrying out the re12 deployment of the Armed Forces under this section, 

13 the highest priority shall be afforded to the safety of 

14 members of the Armed Forces and civilian personnel 

15 of the United States in Iraq. 

16 (b) SUSPENSION OF REDEPLOYMENT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may suspend, 

18 on a temporary basis as provided in paragraph (2), 

19 the redeployment of the Armed Forces under this 

20 section if the President certifies to the President pro 

21 tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House 

22 of Representatives that— 

23 (A) doing so is in the national security in24 terests of the United States; and 

25 (B) the Government of Iraq— 


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1 (i) has lifted all restrictions con2 cerning non-interference in operations of 

3 the Armed Forces of the United States in 

4 Iraq and does so on a continuing basis; 

5 (ii) is making significant progress in 

6 reducing sectarian violence in Iraq and in 

7 reducing the size and operational effective8 ness of sectarian militias in Iraq; 

9 (iii) is making significant progress to10 wards removing militia elements from the 

11 Iraqi Army, National Police, Facilities 

12 Protection Services, and other security 

13 forces of the Government of Iraq; 

14 (iv) has enacted legislation or estab15 lished other binding mechanisms to ensure 

16 the sharing of all Iraqi oil revenues among 

17 all segments of Iraqi society in an equi18 table manner; 

19 (v) is making significant progress to20 wards making available not less than 

21 $10,000,000,000 for reconstruction, job 

22 creation, and economic development in 

23 Iraq, with safeguards to prevent corrup24 tion, by January 10, 2008; 


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1 (vi) has deployed at least 18 Iraqi 

2 Army and National Police brigades to 

3 Baghdad and is effectively ensuring that 

4 such units are performing their security 

5 and police functions in all Baghdad neigh6 borhoods, regardless of their sectarian 

7 composition; 

8 (vii) has enacted legislation or estab9 lished other binding mechanisms to revise 

10 its de-Baathification laws to encourage the 

11 employment in the Government of Iraq of 

12 qualified Iraqi professionals, irrespective of 

13 ethnic or political affiliation, including ex14 Baathists who were not leading figures of 

15 the Saddam Hussein regime; 

16 (viii) has established a fair process for 

17 considering amendments to the constitu18 tion of Iraq that promote lasting national 

19 reconciliation in Iraq; 

20 (ix) is making significant progress to21 wards assuming full responsibility for secu22 rity in all the provinces of Iraq by Novem23 ber 30, 2007; 

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1 tions in Iraq at the earliest date prac2 ticable, but not later than December 31, 

3 2007; 

4 (xi) is making substantial progress to5 wards increasing the size and effectiveness 

6 of Ministry of Defense forces as described 

7 on page 11 of ‘‘Highlights of the Iraq 

8 Strategy Review’’ published by the Na9 tional Security Council in January 2007; 

10 (xii) is making significant progress in 

11 reforming and strengthening the civilian 

12 ministries and other government institu13 tions that support the Iraqi Army and Na14 tional Police; and 

15 (xiii) is making significant progress 

16 towards reforming its civilian ministries to 

17 ensure that they are not administered on a 

18 sectarian basis and that government serv19 ices are delivered in an even-handed and 

20 non-sectarian manner. 

21 (2) PERIOD OF SUSPENSION.—A suspension of 

22 the redeployment of the Armed Forces under this 

23 subsection, including any renewal of the suspension 

24 under paragraph (3), shall be for a period not to ex25 ceed 90 days. 


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1 (3) RENEWAL.—A suspension of the redeploy2 ment of the Armed Forces under this subsection 

3 may be renewed. Any such renewal shall include a 

4 certification to the officers referred to in paragraph 

5 (1) on the matters set forth in clauses (i) through 

6 (xiii) of subparagraph (B) of that paragraph. 

7 (c) DISAPPROVAL OF SUSPENSION.— 

8 (1) DISAPPROVAL.—If Congress enacts a joint 

9 resolution disapproving the suspension of the rede10 ployment of the Armed Forces under subsection (b), 

11 or any renewal of the suspension, the suspension 

12 shall be discontinued, and the redeployment of the 

13 Armed Forces from Iraq under this section shall re14 sume. 

15 (2) PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF

16 JOINT RESOLUTIONS.— 

17 (A) JOINT RESOLUTION DEFINED.—For 

18 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘joint res19 olution’’ means only a joint resolution intro20 duced not later than 10 days after the date on 

21 which a certification of the President under 

22 subsection (b) is received by Congress, the mat23 ter after the resolving clause of which is as fol24 lows: ‘‘That Congress disapproves the certifi25 cation of the President submitted to Congress 


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1 under section 4(b) of the Iraq War De-Esca2 lation Act of 2007, on lllllll.’’, the 

3 blank space being filled in with the appropriate 

4 date. 

5 (B) PROCEDURES.—A joint resolution de6 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be considered in 

7 a House of Congress in accordance with the 

8 procedures applicable to joint resolutions under 

9 paragraphs (3) through (8) of section 8066(c) 

10 of the Department of Defense Appropriations 

11 Act, 1985 (as enacted by section 101(h) of 

12 Public Law 98–473; 98 Stat. 1936). 

13 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 90 

16 days thereafter, the President shall submit to the 

17 President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speak18 er of the House of Representatives a report describ19 ing and assessing— 

20 (A) the progress made by the Government 

21 of Iraq on each of the matters set forth in sub22 section (b)(1)(B); and 

23 (B) the progress of the redeployment re24 quired by subsection (a). 


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1 (2) FORM.—Each report under this subsection 

2 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in3 clude a classified annex. 

4 (e) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON LOCATION OF REDE5 PLOYMENT.—It is the sense of Congress that, in rede6 ploying the Armed Forces from Iraq under this section, 

7 appropriate units of the Armed Forces should be rede8 ployed— 

9 (1) to the United States; 

10 (2) to Afghanistan, in order to enhance United 

11 States military operations in that country; 

12 (3) elsewhere in the region, to serve as an over13 the-horizon force to prevent the conflict in Iraq from 

14 becoming a wider war, to reassure allies of the 

15 United States of the commitment of the United 

16 States to remain engaged in the region, and to posi17 tion troops to strike directly at al-Qaeda; and 

18 (4) elsewhere, to meet urgent United States se19 curity needs. 

20 (f) POLITICAL SOLUTION IN IRAQ.—The United 

21 States should use the redeployment of the Armed Forces 

22 under this section, and the possible suspension of such re23 deployment if the benchmarks set forth in subsection (b) 

24 are met, as a tool to press the Iraqi leaders to promote 


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1 national reconciliation among ethnic and religious groups 

2 in Iraq in order to establish stability in Iraq. 

3 (g) RETENTION OF CERTAIN FORCES IN IRAQ.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the re5 quirement for the redeployment of the Armed Forces 

6 under subsection (a) and subject to the provisions of 

7 this subsection, personnel of the Armed Forces of 

8 the United States may be in Iraq after the comple9 tion of the redeployment of the Armed Forces under 

10 this section for the following purposes: 

11 (A) To protect United States personnel 

12 and facilities in Iraq. 

13 (B) To conduct targeted counter-terrorism 

14 operations. 

15 (C) To provide training for Iraqi security 

16 forces. 

17 (D) To conduct the routine functions of 

18 the Office of Defense Attache. 

19 (2) CERTIFICATION.—Personnel of the Armed 

20 Forces may not be retained in Iraq under this sub21 section unless the President certifies to the Presi22 dent pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of 

23 the House of Representatives that— 


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1 (A) the retention of the Armed Forces in 

2 Iraq is necessary for one or more of the pur3 poses set forth in paragraph (1); and 

4 (B) the utilization of Armed Forces posi5 tioned outside Iraq could not result in the effec6 tive achievement of such purpose or purposes. 

7 (3) DISAPPROVAL OF RETENTION.—If Congress 

8 enacts a joint resolution disapproving the retention 

9 of personnel of the Armed Forces in Iraq under this 

10 subsection, or any renewal of the retention, the re11 tention of such personnel in Iraq shall be discon12 tinued, and such personnel shall be redeployed from 

13 Iraq. 

14 (4) PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF

15 JOINT RESOLUTIONS.— 

16 (A) JOINT RESOLUTION DEFINED.—For 

17 purposes of paragraph (3), the term ‘‘joint res18 olution’’ means only a joint resolution intro19 duced not later than 10 days after the date on 

20 which a certification of the President under 

21 paragraph (2) is received by Congress, the mat22 ter after the resolving clause of which is as fol23 lows: ‘‘That Congress disapproves the certifi24 cation of the President submitted to Congress 

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1 lation Act of 2007, on lllllll.’’, the 

2 blank space being filled in with the appropriate 

3 date. 

4 (B) PROCEDURES.—A joint resolution de5 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be considered 

6 in a House of Congress in accordance with the 

7 procedures applicable to joint resolutions under 

8 paragraphs (3) through (8) of section 8066(c) 

9 of the Department of Defense Appropriations 

10 Act, 1985 (as enacted by section 101(h) of 

11 Public Law 98–473; 98 Stat. 1936). 

12 (h) NO PERMANENT BASES.—Congress hereby reaf13 firms section 1519 of the John Warner National Defense 

14 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (Public Law 109– 

15 364; 120 Stat. 2444), and related provisions of law, that 

16 prohibit the establishment of military installations or 

17 bases for the purpose of providing for the permanent sta18 tioning of United States Armed Forces in Iraq. 

19 SEC. 5. INTENSIFICATION OF TRAINING OF IRAQI SECU20 RITY FORCES. 

21 It shall be the policy of the United States to imme22 diately formulate and implement a plan that— 

23 (1) with the Government of Iraq— 


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1 (A) removes militia elements from the 

2 Iraqi Army, National Police, and other security 

3 forces of the Government of Iraq; and 

4 (B) puts such forces in charge of maintain5 ing security in Iraq; 

6 (2) focuses and intensifies United States efforts 

7 on training such forces; and 

8 (3) presses the Government of Iraq to reform 

9 the civilian ministries and other government institu10 tions that support the Iraqi Army, National Police, 

11 local police, and judicial system. 

12 SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE FOR 

13 IRAQ. 

14 (a) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in subsection 

15 (b), after May 1, 2007, economic assistance may be fur16 nished to the Government of Iraq only if the President 

17 submits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and 

18 the Speaker of the House of Representatives a certifi19 cation that the Government of Iraq— 

20 (1) is making measurable progress toward pro21 viding not less than $10,000,000,000 of Iraqi funds 

22 for reconstruction, job creation, and economic devel23 opment in Iraq, with safeguards to prevent corrup24 tion, by January 10, 2008; 


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1 (2) is making progress toward meeting the con2 ditions set forth in the International Compact for 

3 Iraq and in the stand-by agreement with the Inter4 national Monetary Fund; and 

5 (3) is making progress toward reducing sec6 tarian violence and promoting national reconcili7 ation. 

8 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—The limitation in subsection (a) 

9 shall not apply to assistance for Iraq as follows: 

10 (1) Humanitarian assistance. 

11 (2) Assistance to address urgent security and 

12 employment needs. 

13 (c) ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS.—Not later than 90 

14 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 

15 90 days thereafter, the Special Inspector General for Iraq 

16 Reconstruction shall submit to Congress a report describ17 ing the progress of the Government of Iraq on each matter 

18 set forth in subsection (a). 

19 SEC. 7. REGIONAL DIPLOMATIC INITIATIVES ON IRAQ. 

20 (a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It shall be the 

21 policy of the United States to undertake comprehensive 

22 regional and international initiatives, involving key na23 tions, that will assist the Government of Iraq in achieving 

24 the purposes of this Act, including promoting a political 

25 settlement among the Iraqi people, ending the civil war 


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1 in Iraq, preventing a humanitarian catastrophe in Iraq, 

2 and preventing a regional conflict. 

3 (b) SPECIAL ENVOY.—The President should, not 

4 later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 

5 Act, appoint a special envoy for Iraq to carry out the pol6 icy set forth in subsection (a). 

7 (c) STRATEGY ON PREVENTING WIDER REGIONAL

8 WAR.— 

9 (1) STRATEGY.—Not later than 90 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

11 shall submit to the President pro tempore of the 

12 Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representa13 tives a report setting forth a strategy for preventing 

14 the conflict in Iraq from becoming a wider regional 

15 war. 

16 (2) FORM.—The report under paragraph (1) 

17 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in18 clude a classified annex. 

Æ 


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