IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 417 
Expressing the sense of Congress in support of a broad-based political 
settlement in Iraq. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 25, 2006 
Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself and Mr. SCHWARZ of Michigan) sub-
mitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on International Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress in support of a broad- 
based political settlement in Iraq. 
Whereas there has been a strong consensus among the senior 
United States military commanders that a broad-based 
political settlement involving the three main Iraqi groups 
is essential for defeating the insurgency in Iraq; 
Whereas the two parts of that political settlement are (1) 
final and complete agreement on a national unity govern-
ment that serves the interests of all Iraqis, and (2) com-
promises to amend the Constitution of Iraq to make it 
an inclusive document; 
Whereas such a two-part political settlement is also essential 
to prevent all-out civil war and is a critical element of the 
exit strategy for United States military forces in Iraq; 
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Whereas the Iraqi Council of Representatives’ approval on 
April 22, 2006, of the Presidency Council consisting of 
Jalal Talabani as President and two Vice Presidents, and 
the election of a Speaker and two Deputy Speakers was 
a significant step, as was the decision by the Iraqi polit-
ical leadership to select Nouri al-Maliki as the Prime 
Minister-designate; 
Whereas under the Iraq Constitution, Prime Minister-des-
ignate Nouri al-Maliki had 30 days from April 22, 2006, 
to choose and present a cabinet to the Council of Rep-
resentatives for its approval; 
Whereas on May 20, 2006, the Council of Representatives 
approved Iraq’s national unity government, and pledged 
to divide the two critical unfilled posts of Interior Minster 
and Defense Minster amongst the Shia and Sunni ethnic 
groups, respectively; 
Whereas the Council of Representatives still needs to form a 
committee to recommend changes to the Iraq Constitu-
tion; 
Whereas under the Iraq Constitution, the Council of Rep-
resentatives, at the start of its functioning, is required to 
appoint a committee from its members which will have 
four months to present recommendations to the Council 
for necessary amendments to the Iraq Constitution; 
Whereas while the three main Iraqi groups have differing 
views about the duration of the presence in Iraq of the 
United States-led coalition forces, none of them favor the 
immediate withdrawal of United States military forces 
from Iraq; 
Whereas section 1227 of the National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public Law 109–163; 119 
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•HCON 417 IH
Stat. 3465; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) provides in part that 
‘‘[t]he Administration should tell the leaders of all groups 
and political parties in Iraq that they need to make the 
compromises necessary to achieve the broad-based and 
sustainable political settlement that is essential for de-
feating the insurgency in Iraq, within the timetable they 
set for themselves’’; 
Whereas the United States Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay 
Khalilzad, has done an exceptional job in working with 
Iraqi political, religious, and tribal leaders in an effort to 
achieve consensus on the prompt formation of a national 
unity government; and 
Whereas the American public has become increasingly and 
understandably impatient with the protracted political 
process in Iraq and support for the continued presence 
of United States military forces in Iraq is diminishing: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the Ad-
ministration should tell the Iraqi political, religious, and 
tribal leaders that— 
(1) the presence of United States military 
forces in Iraq is neither unending nor unconditional; 
(2) whether the Iraqis avoid all-out civil war 
and have a future as a nation is in their hands; 
(3) the Iraqis need to seize the opportunity pre-
sented by the formation of a national unity govern-
ment and the presence of United States military 
forces to secure the future of their nation; and 
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(4) completing the formation of a government 
of national unity and subsequent agreement to modi-
fications to the Iraq Constitution to make it more 
inclusive, within the deadlines the Iraqis have set for 
themselves in the Iraq Constitution— 
(A) is essential to quelling the sectarian 
and insurgent-led violence which threatens to 
push the country into an all-out civil war; and 
(B) will enable the Iraqi government to as-
sume security responsibilities now borne by 
United States military forces in Iraq. 
Æ 
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