Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security (PDF; 415 KB)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Think Progress)

Operation Iraqi Freedom overthrew Saddam Hussein’s regime, but much of Iraq remains violent because of Sunni Arab resentment and a related insurgency, compounded by Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence that, in the judgment of many, constitutes a “civil war.” Mounting U.S. casualties and financial costs — without dramatic improvements in levels of violence or clear movement toward national political reconciliation among Iraq’s major communities — have intensified a debate within the United States over whether to reduce U.S. involvement without completely accomplishing initial U.S. goals.
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Some in Congress — as well as the Iraq Study Group — believe that the United States should begin winding down U.S. combat involvement in Iraq. Both chambers adopted a FY2007 supplemental appropriation to fund U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (H.R. 1591) that would have set an outside deadline of March 31, 2008, for U.S. combat withdrawal if the President did not certify Iraqi progress on the “benchmarks.” President Bush vetoed it on May 1, 2007, and subsequent bills mandating forms of withdrawal or combat reduction have not moved forward. Some observers say such legislation might see further action after the Administration’s September 15 progress report, while others say some positive assessments of the “troop surge” might forestall immediate congressional action.

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