Download Locations:
Summary:
Operation Iraqi Freedom overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime, but much of Iraq became violent because of Sunni Arab resentment and a related insurgency, resulting Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence, competition among Shiite groups, and the failure of Iraq's government to equitably administer justice or deliver services. U.S. casualties and financial costs -- without clear movement toward national political reconciliation among Iraq's major communities -- stimulated debate within the United States over whether the initial goals of the intervention - a stable, democratic Iraq that is a partner in the global war on terrorism � could be achieved, and at what cost. The Administration is claiming relative success in reversing the deterioration in security in 2006, attributing the gains to the "troop surge" strategy announced by President Bush on January 10, 2007 ("New Way Forward"). Some commanders say that violence has now dropped to levels not seen since 2004. The centerpiece of the strategy was the deployment of an additional 28,500 U.S. forces ("troop surge") to help stabilize Baghdad and to take advantage of growing tribal support for U.S. policy in Anbar Province. However, critics say that the strategy was primarily intended to promote Iraqi government action on a series of key reconciliation initiatives that are viewed as "benchmarks" of political progress. According to congressionally mandated White House reports in July and September 2007, as well as subsequent events, overall national political reconciliation has not progressed substantially, and U.S. officials are looking for more modest signs of political "accommodation"rather than broad, sweeping reconciliation. The Administration believes that the current U.S. strategy holds out the prospect of producing what some experts sustainable stability -- a central government able to defend itself with progressively reduced U.S. help. However, some in Congress believe that because of a lack of Iraqi political reconciliation, the United States should begin winding down U.S. combat involvement in Iraq, whether or not a unified central government is fully stabilized. Partly because there is a perception that the troop surge strategy is reducing violence, there has not been the needed level of support in Congress to mandate a troop withdrawal, a timetable for withdrawal, or a significant change in U.S. strategy. Some see the September 2007 passage of a Senate amendment (in the conference report on a defense authorization act, H.R. 1585) supporting a more decentralized, "federal" Iraq as outgrowth of efforts to build a bipartisan consensus for an alternative Iraq strategy. This report is updated regularly. See also CRS Report RS21968, Iraq: Government Formation and Benchmarks, by Kenneth Katzman; CRS Report RL31833, Iraq: Reconstruction Assistance, by Curt Tarnoff; CRS Report RL31701, Iraq: U.S. Military Operations, by Steve Bowman; and CRS Report RL33793, Iraq: Regional Perspectives and U.S. Policy, coordinated by Christopher Blanchard.
