Contingency Planning for Redeployment from Iraq
On October 2, 2007, the House passed H.R. 3087, Contingency Planning for Redeployment from Iraq. This bill requires the Department of Defense, within 60 days, to submit a report on the status of planning for redeployment from Iraq to the congressional defense committees, with updated reports every 90 days thereafter.
This bill requires a report on redeployment planning from DOD within 60 days. The bill requires that, within 60 days after enactment, the Secretary of Defense must submit a report to the House and Senate defense committees on the status of planning for the redeployment of the Armed Forces from Iraq. Every 90 days thereafter the report must be updated.
The legislation also calls for congressional briefings by the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The bill also requires that the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff brief the House and Senate defense committees on the report’s contents. They must also brief the congressional defense committees on the subsequent reports that are updated every 90 days.
The bill calls for robust contingency planning by the Pentagon on redeployment and outlines the issues the contingency planning should address. The bill states that it is the sense of Congress that it is necessary and prudent for the Department of Defense to undertake robust and comprehensive contingency planning. Contingency planning for a redeployment of U.S. Armed Forces from Iraq should address:
- Ensuring appropriate protection for the U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq;
- Providing appropriate protection in Iraq for U.S. civilians, contractors, third party nationals, and Iraqi nationals who have assisted the U.S. mission in Iraq;
- Maintaining and enhancing the ability of the U.S. government to eliminate and disrupt Al Qaeda and affiliated terrorist organizations; and
- Preserving military equipment necessary to defend the national security interests of the United States.
- Describe a range of possible scenarios for such redeployment;
- Outline multiple timetables for such redeployment;
- Describe the possible missions, and the associated projected number of members, of the Armed Forces that would remain in Iraq.