Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007 - Important Aspects of The Plan

Important Aspects of The Plan

• Binding legislation that would not be able to be bypassed without explicit Congressional approval.
• Caps the number of U.S. troops at the January 10, 2007 level.
• Does not affect the funding of the troops.
• Initiates a phased redeployment beginning on May 1, 2007 with a goal of total redeployment of combat forces on March 31, 2008, consistent with the bipartisan Iraq Study Group's Report.
• Enforces benchmarks for Iraq's government including Security, political reconciliation and economic reform. If the benchmarks are met, the redeployment could be temporarily suspended upon congressional approval.
• Maintains a military presence in the region for force protection, training of Iraqi forces, and pursuing international terrorists.
• Requires Congressional oversight with the President reporting a progress report on Iraq to Congress every 90 days.
• Intensifies training of Iraqi security forces to enable Iraqis to take over the security responsibilities for Iraq.
• Puts conditions on economic assistance to the Government of Iraq based on progress towards benchmarks.
• Attempts to create more regional diplomacy with key nations in the region to help achieve a political settlement among the Iraqi people, and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and regional conflict.