IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 319 
Recognizing March 19, 2008, as the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war and 
urging President George W. Bush to begin an immediate and safe rede-
ployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 14, 2008 
Mr. WEXLER submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing March 19, 2008, as the fifth anniversary of 
the Iraq war and urging President George W. Bush 
to begin an immediate and safe redeployment of United 
States Armed Forces from Iraq. 
Whereas the Iraq war began on March 19, 2003, when Presi-
dent George W. Bush announced before the entire Nation 
that ‘‘American and coalition forces are in the early 
stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its 
people and to defend the world from grave danger.’’; 
Whereas March 19, 2008, marks the fifth year of the Iraq 
war, one of the biggest foreign policy disasters in Amer-
ican history; 
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•HCON 319 IH 
Whereas during March 2008, all Americans, including fami-
lies of members of the United States Armed Forces 
maimed or killed in Iraq, will reflect, mourn, pray, and 
hold vigils; 
Whereas countless numbers of Americans have been perma-
nently scarred and their lives shattered because of the 
Iraq war; 
Whereas as of January 2, 2008, according to Department of 
Defense, the United States had 155,846 troops stationed 
in Iraq—137,709 members of the regular components of 
the Armed Forces and 18,137 members of the National 
Guard or Reserves; 
Whereas as of March 11, 2008, 3,983 members of the United 
States Armed Forces have died since the beginning of the 
Iraq war, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count; 
Whereas of March 1, 2008, over 39,000 members of the 
United States Armed Forces have been permanently 
maimed or injured, according to the United States De-
partment of Defense; 
Whereas Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, 
along with co-author Harvard professor Linda Bilmes, 
concludes in his book ‘‘The Three Trillion Dollar War: 
The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict’’ that the Iraq war 
will cost American taxpayers at least three trillion dol-
lars; 
Whereas, according to Mr. Stiglitz and Ms. Bilmes, ‘‘U.S. 
military operations in Iraq already have exceeded the cost 
of the 12-year war in Vietnam and is more than double 
the cost of the Korean Conflict.’’; 
Whereas, according to the Iraq Body Count (IBC), approxi-
mately 89,300 Iraqi civilians have been killed since the 
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•HCON 319 IH 
beginning of the Iraq war, although some independent es-
timates suggest Iraq civilian deaths to be in the hundreds 
of thousands; 
Whereas, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency 
and the International Organization for Migration, in 
2007 almost 5 million Iraqis had been displaced by vio-
lence in their country, the vast majority of whom have 
fled since 2003; 
Whereas March 19, 2008, marks the fifth anniversary of the 
Iraq war which has no end in sight under the failed lead-
ership of President Bush; 
Whereas the Iraq war has severely compromised United 
States efforts to effectively fight the war on terrorism 
and irreparably damaged our Nation’s credibility globally; 
Whereas the Iraq war has left Americans less safe, has cost 
over $500 billion, and has embroiled our brave troops in 
an unwinnable and deadly sectarian war; 
Whereas thousands of members of the United States Armed 
Forces who were sent into Iraq without adequate body 
armor or armored vehicles for five years are now on their 
second or third 15-month rotation; 
Whereas 5 years after the start of the Iraq war, too many 
members of the United States Armed Forces returning 
home are still not receiving adequate health care or effec-
tive psychiatric care; 
Whereas President Bush is unwilling to ‘‘change course’’ in 
Iraq despite the long-term impact of his policies on 
American national security or the urgent need for Amer-
ica to address a resurgent Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and 
Pakistan; 
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•HCON 319 IH 
Whereas President Bush and his Administration continue to 
carelessly spend billions of dollars a month in Iraq, di-
verting critically needed funding for health care, edu-
cation, strengthening the Nation’s bridges and infrastruc-
ture, and assisting Americans coping with an economic 
recession; 
Whereas the coalition of the willing has dwindled in Iraq, mil-
lions of Iraqis remain internally and externally displaced, 
and the Iraqi people have said unequivocally in poll after 
poll that they want United States troops out of their 
country; 
Whereas the Bush Administration’s ‘‘surge’’ policy has failed 
to bring political stability to Iraq and lasting reconcili-
ation between ethnic groups; 
Whereas on March 13, 2008, General David H. Petraeus, the 
top United States commander in Iraq, when asked in an 
interview about the success of the ‘‘surge’’ in Iraq, stated 
‘‘No one feels that there has been sufficient progress by 
any means in the area of national reconciliation.’’; 
Whereas the Bush Administration is currently negotiating a 
status of forces agreement with the Iraqi Government 
that would keep United States Armed Forces in Iraq for 
the foreseeable future; 
Whereas on May 1, 2007, President Bush vetoed the U.S. 
Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and 
Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 (H.R. 
1591), which would have set a date to begin withdrawing 
United States Armed Forces from Iraq; 
Whereas after 5 disastrous years, it is time for United States 
troops to immediately and safely redeploy from Iraq; and 
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•HCON 319 IH 
Whereas instead of marking another Iraq war anniversary on 
March 19, 2009, it is time for the United States Con-
gress to end America’s involvement in Iraq by with-
holding additional funding for the war: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) recognizes and honors the heroic sacrifice of 
the brave members of the United States Armed 
Forces and their families on the fifth anniversary of 
the Iraq war; 
(2) urges President George W. Bush not to 
enter into any long-term United States-Iraq stra-
tegic agreement without the approval of Congress; 
(3) urges President Bush to begin an imme-
diate and safe redeployment of United States Armed 
Forces from Iraq; and 
(4) urges President Bush to live up to his re-
sponsibilities and adequately provide health care as-
sistance to United States troops returning from Iraq 
and Afghanistan. 
Æ 
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