II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1336 

To provide for an assessment of the achievement by the Government of 

Iraq of benchmarks for political settlement and national reconciliation 

in Iraq. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 8, 2007 

Ms. SNOWE (for herself and Mr. BAYH) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To provide for an assessment of the achievement by the 

Government of Iraq of benchmarks for political settlement and national reconciliation in Iraq. 

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

3 SECTION 1. ASSESSMENT OF ACHIEVEMENT BY THE GOV4 ERNMENT OF IRAQ OF BENCHMARKS FOR PO5 LITICAL SETTLEMENT AND NATIONAL REC6 ONCILIATION IN IRAQ. 

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


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1 (1) Iraq is experiencing a deteriorating and 

2 ever-widening problem of sectarian and intra-sec3 tarian violence based upon political distrust and cul4 tural differences between some Sunni and Shia Mus5 lims, concentrated primarily in Baghdad. 

6 (2) Iraqis must reach political settlements in 

7 order to achieve reconciliation, and the failure of the 

8 Iraqis to reach such settlements to support a truly 

9 unified government greatly contributes to the in10 creasing violence in Iraq. 

11 (3) The responsibility for internal security and 

12 halting sectarian violence in Iraq must rest primarily 

13 with the Government of Iraq, relying on the Iraqi 

14 Security Forces (ISF). 

15 (4) On January 10, 2007, President George W. 

16 Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq, which con17 sists of three basic elements: diplomatic, economic, 

18 and military. The central component of the military 

19 element is an augmentation of the present level of 

20 United States military forces in Iraq with more than 

21 20,000 additional United States military forces to 

22 ‘‘work alongside Iraqi units and be embedded in 

23 their formations. Our troops will have a well-defined 

24 mission: to help Iraqis clear and secure neighbor25 hoods, to help them protect the local population, and 


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1 to help ensure that the Iraqi forces left behind are 

2 capable of providing the security that Baghdad 

3 needs’’. 

4 (5) President George W. Bush said on January 

5 10, 2007, that ‘‘I’ve made it clear to the Prime Min6 ister and Iraq’s other leaders that America’s com7 mitment is not open-ended’’ so as to dispel the con8 trary impression that exists. 

9 (6) The Commander, Multi-National Forces10 Iraq, General David Petraeus, stated during his con11 firmation hearing before the Committee on Armed 

12 Services of the Senate, on January 23, 2007, that 

13 it is ‘‘very important’’ for Iraqis to understand that 

14 they need to reach the political settlements which 

15 are essential to resolve the sectarian violence and to 

16 defeat insurgents. 

17 (7) General Petraeus acknowledged during his 

18 confirmation hearing before the Committee on 

19 Armed Services of the Senate, on January 23, 2007, 

20 that political settlement and political settlement 

21 alone by the Iraqis is our ultimate way of providing 

22 security and success in Iraq. 

23 (8) General Petraeus stated on March 8, 2007 

24 that ‘‘[a] political resolution of various differences, 

25 of this legislation, of various senses that people do 


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1 not have a stake in the success of the new Iraq, and 

2 so forth, that is crucial. That is what will determine 

3 in the long run the success of this effort’’. In an 

4 April 26, 2007, news conference, General Petraeus 

5 said that the situation in Iraq remains ‘‘exceedingly 

6 difficult’’. 

7 (9) General Petraeus, as principal author of 

8 Army Field Manual 3–24 (MCWP 3–33.5), 

9 Counterinsurgency, released in December 2006, and 

10 therefore possessing the unique understanding and 

11 experience regarding the principles and fundamen12 tals of pursuing a counterinsurgency strategy, states 

13 that ‘‘[i]n the end, the host nation has to win on its 

14 own. Achieving this requires development of viable 

15 local leaders and institutions. U.S. forces and agen16 cies can help, but [Host Nation] elements must ac17 cept responsibilities to achieve real victory’’. 

18 (10) United States military operations in Iraq 

19 should be conducted alongside a comprehensive dip20 lomatic, political, and economic strategy that in21 cludes sustained engagement with Iraq’s neighbors 

22 and the international community for the purpose of 

23 working collectively to bring stability to Iraq. 

24 (11) United States military personnel are cur25 rently serving in Iraq with the bravery and profesVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:43 May 09, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1336.IS S1336

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1 sionalism consistent with the finest traditions of the 

2 United States Armed Forces. Many have lost their 

3 lives, and many more have been wounded. They have 

4 and deserve the support of all Americans, and the 

5 American people will always honor their sacrifices 

6 and honor their families. 

7 (12) United States strategy in Iraq should be 

8 conditioned on the meeting by the Government of 

9 Iraq of specific benchmarks, as laid out by the 

10 President and in consultation with Congress, and re11 flected in the commitments of the Government of 

12 Iraq to the international community. 

13 (13) The meeting of these benchmarks by the 

14 Government of Iraq should be viewed as the condi15 tion for continued United States military and eco16 nomic involvement in Iraq. 

17 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con18 gress that Congress should not take any action, including 

19 the elimination or reduction of funds, that will impair the 

20 mission of the United States military forces in the field, 

21 undermine their safety or harm their effectiveness in pur22 suing their assigned missions. 

23 (c) REPORT ON ACHIEVEMENT OF BENCHMARKS.— 

24 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the ComVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:43 May 09, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1336.IS S1336

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1 mander, Multi-National Forces-Iraq, having con2 sulted with relevant United States and Iraqi offi3 cials, shall submit to Congress an independent re4 port setting forth the status of the achievement of 

5 the benchmarks specified in paragraph (2) and stat6 ing the Commander’s assessment whether or not 

7 each such benchmark has been met. The Com8 mander shall prepare and submit the report in co9 ordination with the Director of National Intelligence. 

10 (2) BENCHMARKS.—The benchmarks specified 

11 in this paragraph are as follows: 

12 (A) The assumption by Iraq of control of 

13 its military. 

14 (B) The enactment and implementation of 

15 a Militia Law to disarm and demobilize militias 

16 and to ensure that Iraqi security forces are ac17 countable only to the central government and 

18 loyal to the constitution of Iraq. 

19 (C) The completion of the review of the 

20 constitution of Iraq and the holding of a ref21 erendum on special amendments to the con22 stitution of Iraq to ensure equitable participa23 tion in the Government of Iraq without regard 

24 to religious sect or ethnicity. 


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1 (D) The completion of a provincial election 

2 law and the commencement and specific prepa3 ration for the conduct of provincial elections 

4 that ensures equitable constitution of provincial 

5 representative bodies without regard to religious 

6 sect or ethnicity. 

7 (E) The enactment and implementation of 

8 legislation to ensure that the energy resources 

9 of Iraq benefit Sunni Arabs, Shia Arabs, 

10 Kurds, and other Iraqi citizens in an equitable 

11 manner. 

12 (F) The enactment and implementation of 

13 legislation that equitably reforms the de14 Ba’athification process in Iraq. 

15 (3) TESTIMONY BEFORE CONGRESS.—Not later 

16 than 14 days after the submittal to Congress of the 

17 report required by paragraph (1), the Commander, 

18 Multi-National Forces-Iraq shall appear before each 

19 of the appropriate committees of Congress to testify 

20 with respect to the success or failure of the Govern21 ment of Iraq in meeting the benchmarks specified in 

22 paragraph (2). If, in the Commander’s assessment 

23 as set forth in the report, the Government of Iraq 

24 has failed to meet any such benchmarks, the ComVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:43 May 09, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1336.IS S1336

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1 mander shall also submit in his testimony each of 

2 the following: 

3 (A) Plans for the phased redeployment of 

4 United States forces currently deployed to Iraq 

5 in support of the Baghdad Security Plan as 

6 outlined by the President. 

7 (B) Subject to paragraph (4), plans for 

8 changing the mission of the remaining United 

9 States forces in Iraq to— 

10 (i) training and equipping Iraqi 

11 forces; 

12 (ii) assisting deployed Iraqi brigades 

13 with intelligence, transportation, air sup14 port, and logistics support; 

15 (iii) protecting United States and coa16 lition personnel and infrastructure; and 

17 (iv) maintaining rapid-reaction teams 

18 and special operations teams to undertake 

19 strike missions against al Qaeda in Iraq, 

20 and for other missions considered vital by 

21 the United States commander in Iraq. 

22 (4) The Commander, Multi-National Forces23 Iraq shall devise the plans described in paragraph 

24 (3)(B) with the objective of successfully accom25 plishing the change in mission within six months of 


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1 the date of his testimony before Congress. The Com2 mander shall further indicate the number of troops 

3 needed to successfully complete the changed mission 

4 and the estimated duration of that mission. 

5 (5) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS

6 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appro7 priate committees of Congress’’ means— 

8 (A) the Committee on Armed Services of 

9 the Senate; and 

10 (B) the Committee on Armed Services of 

11 the House of Representatives. 

12 (d) COMPTROLLER GENERAL ASSESSMENT.—Not 

13 later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of 

14 this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

15 shall submit to Congress an independent report setting 

16 forth— 

17 (1) the status of the achievement of the bench18 marks specified in subsection (c)(2); and 

19 (2) the Comptroller General’s assessment 

20 whether or not each such benchmark has been met. 

Æ 


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