IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 688 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives concerning the creation 
of federal regions in Iraq. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2007 
Mr. GALLEGLY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives 
concerning the creation of federal regions in Iraq. 
Whereas Iraq continues to experience a self-sustaining cycle 
of sectarian violence; 
Whereas the ongoing sectarian violence presents a threat to 
regional and world peace, and the long-term security in-
terests of the United States are best served by an Iraq 
that is stable, not a haven for terrorists, and not a threat 
to its neighbors; 
Whereas the central focus of al Qaeda in Iraq has been to 
turn sectarian divisions in Iraq into sectarian violence 
through a concentrated series of attacks, the most signifi-
cant being the destruction of the Golden Dome of the 
Shia al-Askariyah Mosque in Samarra in February 2006; 
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•HRES 688 IH 
Whereas Iraqis must reach a comprehensive and sustainable 
political settlement in order to achieve stability and re-
duce violence; 
Whereas Article One of the Constitution of Iraq declares Iraq 
to be a ‘‘single, independent federal state’’; 
Whereas Section Five of the Constitution of Iraq declares 
that the ‘‘federal system in the Republic of Iraq is made 
up of a decentralized capital, regions, and governorates, 
and local administrations’’ and enumerates the expansive 
powers of regions and the limited powers of the central 
government and establishes the mechanisms for the cre-
ation of new federal regions; 
Whereas the federal system created by the Constitution of 
Iraq would give Iraqis local control over their police and 
certain laws, including those related to employment, edu-
cation, religion, and marriage; 
Whereas the Constitution of Iraq recognizes the administra-
tive role of the Kurdistan Regional Government in three 
northern Iraqi provinces, known also as the Kurdistan re-
gion; 
Whereas the Kurdistan region, recognized by the Constitution 
of Iraq, is largely stable and peaceful; 
Whereas the Iraqi Parliament approved a federalism law on 
October 11, 2006, which establishes procedures for the 
creation of new federal regions and will go into effect 18 
months after approval; 
Whereas despite their differences, Iraq’s sectarian and ethnic 
groups support the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq; 
and 
Whereas Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stated on No-
vember 27, 2006, ‘‘[t]he crisis is political, and the ones 
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•HRES 688 IH 
who can stop the cycle of aggravation and bloodletting of 
innocents are the politicians’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of House of Representa-
tives that— 
(1) the United States should actively support a 
political settlement in Iraq based on the final provi-
sions of the Constitution of Iraq that create a fed-
eral system of government and allow for the creation 
of federal regions, consistent with the wishes of the 
Iraqi people and their elected leaders; 
(2) the active support referred to in paragraph 
(1) should include— 
(A) calling on the international community, 
including countries with troops in Iraq, the per-
manent five members of the United Nations Se-
curity Council, members of the Gulf Coopera-
tion Council, and Iraq’s neighbors— 
(i) to support an Iraqi political settle-
ment based on federalism; 
(ii) to acknowledge the sovereignty 
and territorial integrity of Iraq; and 
(iii) to fulfill commitments for the ur-
gent delivery of significant assistance and 
debt relief to Iraq, especially those made 
by the member states of the Gulf Coopera-
tion Council; 
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•HRES 688 IH 
(B) further calling on Iraq’s neighbors to 
pledge not to intervene in or destabilize Iraq 
and to agree to related verification mechanisms; 
and 
(C) convening a conference for Iraqis to 
reach an agreement on a comprehensive polit-
ical settlement based on the federalism law ap-
proved by the Iraqi Parliament on October 11, 
2006; 
(3) the United States should urge the Govern-
ment of Iraq to quickly agree upon and implement 
a law providing for the equitable distribution of oil 
revenues, which is a critical component of a com-
prehensive political settlement based upon fed-
eralism; 
(4) the steps described in paragraphs (1), (2), 
and (3) could lead to an Iraq that is stable, not a 
haven for terrorists, and not a threat to its neigh-
bors; and 
(5) nothing in this resolution should be con-
strued in any way to infringe on the sovereign rights 
of the nation of Iraq. 
Æ 
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