{ "id": "R45633", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "R", "number": "R45633", "active": true, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Iraq: Issues in the 116th Congress", "retrieved": "2020-09-07T12:22:21.246793", "id": "R45633_10_2020-07-17", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2020-07-17_R45633_1840814df4b483d650def9686deb61ff14a60457.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45633/10", "sha1": "1840814df4b483d650def9686deb61ff14a60457" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2020-07-17_R45633_1840814df4b483d650def9686deb61ff14a60457.html" } ], "date": "2020-07-17", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R45633", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 613364, "date": "2020-01-10", "retrieved": "2020-01-14T23:14:53.733114", "title": "Iraq: Issues in the 116th Congress", "summary": "Some Iraqis are demanding an end to the U.S. military presence in Iraq, in the context of intensified confrontation between the United States and Iran. Tensions increased for months during 2019 as Iran-backed Iraqi militia targeted U.S. and Iraqi military and civilian personnel in a series of rocket attacks, and as unclaimed airstrikes in Iraq targeted Iranian officials and Iraqi militia facilities and personnel. After a rocket attack killed and wounded U.S. contractors in December 2019, President Donald Trump cited U.S. concerns about the imminent threat of new attacks in ordering the U.S. military to kill Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Force leader Abu Mahdi al Muhandis in Iraq on January 2, 2020. Days later, the Iraqi Council of Representatives voted to direct the Iraqi government to end operations by international military forces in Iraq. More than 5,000 U.S. military personnel and hundreds of international counterparts remain in Iraq at the government\u2019s invitation, subject to bilateral executive-to-executive agreements. The deepening security strains have amplified underlying political disputes among Iraqis over the leadership of their government and the future of Iraq\u2019s international orientation and partnerships. Meanwhile, U.S. officials report that Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS/ISIL) fighters are regrouping in Iraq, and judge that the Iraqi security services lack key capabilities they would need to independently maintain gains made against the Islamic State after years of fighting. For background on Iraq, see CRS Report R45025, Iraq: Background and U.S. Policy.\nProtests and Transition. A months-long protest movement has swept central and southern Iraq since October 2019. Meanwhile, security force and militia violence against protestors has killed nearly 500 and wounded thousands. The scope, endurance, and professed goals of the current protest movement are unprecedented in Iraq\u2019s recent history. The movement is channeling nationalist, nonsectarian sentiment and a range of frustrations into potent rejections of the post-2003 political order, the creation of which many Iraqis attribute to U.S. intervention in Iraq. Protestors are reiterating past demonstrators\u2019 concerns and frustrations with the prevailing system\u2019s failures while voicing louder, more direct critiques of Iranian political interference than in the past. In response to protestors\u2019 demands, Iraq\u2019s Prime Minister, Adel Abd al Mahdi, resigned in November 2019 after one year in office. He continues to serve in a caretaker role, and Iraqi political leaders have remained deadlocked over identifying a replacement candidate. Iraq\u2019s unicameral legislature, the Council of Representatives, has approved new electoral laws, but leaders have not yet agreed on specific plans for holding a new national election. Iraqi domestic debates over corruption, governance, and security, as well as the ongoing regional struggle between Iran and the United States, are shaping the prime ministerial replacement process and will likely shape any forthcoming national election and government formation processes in 2020.\nThe Kurdistan Region. The Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq (KRI) enjoys considerable administrative autonomy under the terms of Iraq\u2019s 2005 constitution. Since October 2019, Kurdish leaders have recognized Iraqi Arab protestors\u2019 concerns and criticized repressive violence, while convening to unify positions on reforms that some Kurds fear could undermine the Kurdistan Regional Government\u2019s (KRG) rights. Most Kurdish members did not participate in the January 2020 COR session requesting the withdrawal of foreign forces. The KRG held a controversial advisory referendum on independence in September 2017, increasing tensions with the national government, which then moved to reassert security control of disputed areas. Iraqi security forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters are deployed along contested lines of control, as leaders negotiate a host of sensitive issues.\nStabilization and Reconstruction. Daunting resettlement, stabilization, and reconstruction needs face Iraqi citizens and leaders in the wake of Iraq\u2019s war with the Islamic State group. More than 4.4 million Iraqis uprooted during the war with the Islamic State group have returned to their home communities, but many of the estimated 1.4 million Iraqis who remain internally displaced face significant political, economic, and security barriers to safe and voluntary return. Stabilization efforts in areas recaptured from the Islamic State are underway with United Nations and other international support, but some post-IS stabilization priorities and projects are underfunded. In 2018, Iraq identified $88 billion in reconstruction needs to be met over the next decade. \nU.S. Policy and Issues for Congress. In general, U.S. engagement in Iraq since 2011 has sought to support Iraq\u2019s development as a secure, sovereign democracy. Successive Administrations have trained and supported Iraqi security forces, while expressing concern about Iranian influence. In 2019, Congress appropriated additional military and civilian aid for Iraq without certainty about the future of Iraq\u2019s governing arrangements or how change might affect U.S. interests. Having appropriated hundreds of millions of dollars more for Iraq programs and authorized continued military programs through December 2020, Congress may seek to clarify the Trump Administration\u2019s intentions toward partnership with Iraq and offer its own perspectives on U.S.-Iraqi relations. \nIraq: Map and Country Data\n/\n\nArea: 438,317 sq. km (slightly more than three times the size of New York State)\nPopulation: 40.194 million (July 2018 estimate), ~58% are 24 years of age or under\nInternally Displaced Persons: 1.4 million (October 31, 2019)\nReligions: Muslim 99% (55-60% Shia, 40% Sunni), Christian <0.1%, Yazidi <0.1% \nEthnic Groups: Arab 75-80%; Kurdish 15-20%; Turkmen, Assyrian, Shabak, Yazidi, other ~5%. \nGross Domestic Product [GDP; growth rate]: $224.2 billion (2018); -0.6% (2018)\nBudget (revenues; expenditure; balance): $89 billion, $112 billion, -$23 billion (2019 est.)\nPercentage of Revenue from Oil Exports: 92% (2018)\nCurrent Account Balance: $15.5 billion (2018)\nOil and natural gas reserves: 142.5 billion barrels (2017 est., fifth largest); 3.158 trillion meters3 (2017 est.)\nExternal Debt: $73.43 billion (2017 est.) Foreign Reserves: ~$64.7 billion (2018)\n\nSources: Graphic created by CRS using data from U.S. State Department and Esri. Country data from CIA, The World Factbook, International Monetary Fund, Iraq Ministry of Finance, and International Organization for Migration.\nNote: Select cities in bold.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45633", "sha1": "ecabda87718af07eff1e6ef1303dda495626a158", "filename": "files/20200110_R45633_ecabda87718af07eff1e6ef1303dda495626a158.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/1.png": "files/20200110_R45633_images_6ff0d4eebc43ef8b78b7a54586e1ced4215a4d35.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/5.png": "files/20200110_R45633_images_f24fa998031ddc0b9c44756a221ad9d3e941afa0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/0.png": "files/20200110_R45633_images_5abe307e3b8c1d4fd75a6bcd18b00140e4efbe64.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/3.png": "files/20200110_R45633_images_54238aa93018e6bb25e0fdd36d6119c90c4fab02.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/2.png": "files/20200110_R45633_images_0ceb3dac1317038d0c8a8c9d7208f4856b47031f.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/4.png": "files/20200110_R45633_images_c3ca8cbb259c1c66fbc000d48b604591970f6074.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/6.png": "files/20200110_R45633_images_baf36aec7fb140338e4cb1cb1d0dd2fede1635c3.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/7.png": "files/20200110_R45633_images_fc822f5bbe36b5392512042b77c6c54b7e941325.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45633", "sha1": "c865aa9c768759ee40531fa3939deee3bf059bd8", "filename": "files/20200110_R45633_c865aa9c768759ee40531fa3939deee3bf059bd8.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 595517, "date": "2019-03-26", "retrieved": "2019-12-20T19:39:43.590546", "title": "Iraq: Issues in the 116th Congress", "summary": "Iraq\u2019s government declared military victory against the Islamic State organization (IS, also ISIS/ISIL) in December 2017, but insurgent attacks by remaining IS fighters continue to threaten Iraqis as they shift their attention toward recovery and the country\u2019s political future. Approximately 5,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government and provide advisory and training support to Iraqi security forces. However, some Iraqi political groups are calling for U.S. and other foreign troops to depart, and they may seek to force Iraqi government action on this question during 2019.\nElections and Politics. Iraqis held national elections in May 2018, electing members to Iraq\u2019s unicameral legislature, the 329-seat Council of Representatives (COR). Political factions spent months negotiating in a bid to identify a majority bloc of legislators to form the next government, but the distribution of seats and alignment of actors precluded the emergence of a dominant coalition. Meanwhile, protests and violence in southern Iraq highlighted some citizens\u2019 outrage with poor service delivery, lack of economic opportunity, and corruption. In October, the COR chose former Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister and former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih as Iraq\u2019s President. Salih, in turn, named former Oil Minister Adel Abd al Mahdi as Prime Minister-designate and directed him to assemble a slate of cabinet officials for COR approval. Abd al Mahdi is a consensus figure acceptable to rival factions, but he does not lead a party or parliamentary group of his own. COR members have confirmed most of Abd al Mahdi\u2019s cabinet nominees, but key political groups are at an impasse over certain ministries, including the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense. \nIraqi politicians have increasingly reached across sectarian political and economic lines in recent years in an attempt to appeal to disaffected citizens, but ethnic and religious politics remain relevant and Iraqi citizens remain frustrated with government performance. Iraq\u2019s neighbors and other outsiders, including the United States, are pursuing their respective interests in Iraq, and their competition creates additional challenges for Iraqi leaders. Paramilitary forces have grown stronger and more numerous in Iraq since 2014, and have yet to be fully integrated into national security institutions. Some figures associated with the volunteer Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) that were organized to fight the Islamic State participated in the 2018 election and won COR seats, including critics of U.S. policy who have ties to Iran and are demanding the United States withdraw its military forces. \nThe Kurdistan Region. The Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq (KRI) enjoys considerable administrative autonomy under the terms of Iraq\u2019s 2005 constitution, and the KRG held legislative elections on September 30, 2018. The KRG had held a controversial advisory referendum on independence in September 2017, amplifying political tensions with the national government, which then moved to reassert security control of disputed areas that had been secured by Kurdish forces after the Islamic State\u2019s mid-2014 advance. National government security forces and Kurdish peshmerga are deployed along contested lines of control, as leaders negotiate a host of sensitive issues.\nStabilization and Reconstruction. Daunting resettlement, stabilization, and reconstruction needs face Iraqi citizens and leaders as they look to the future. More than 4 million Iraqis uprooted during the war with the Islamic State group have returned to their home communities, but many of the estimated 1.7 million Iraqis who remain internally displaced face significant political, economic, and security barriers to safe and voluntary return. Stabilization efforts in areas recaptured from the Islamic State are underway with United Nations and other international support, but many immediate post-IS stabilization priorities and projects are underfunded. Iraqi authorities have identified $88 billion in broader reconstruction needs to be met over the next decade. \nU.S. Policy and Issues for Congress. In general, U.S. engagement in Iraq since 2011 has sought to reinforce unifying trends and avoid divisive outcomes. The Trump Administration seeks to continue to train and support Iraqi security forces, while hoping to limit negative Iranian influence. The 116th Congress is considering Administration requests for funding to provide security assistance, humanitarian relief, and foreign aid in Iraq and may debate authorities for and provide oversight of the U.S. military presence in Iraq and security cooperation and aid programs. For background, see CRS Report R45025, Iraq: Background and U.S. Policy.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45633", "sha1": "43a7c7b114f1983bfa425e61e0dff1640dad2380", "filename": "files/20190326_R45633_43a7c7b114f1983bfa425e61e0dff1640dad2380.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/1.png": "files/20190326_R45633_images_84a0c46374b2adde492a3ecfb59c3797411f8788.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/5.png": "files/20190326_R45633_images_ab314b03721ca5b4c686f70ad778ffc51513c62b.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190326_R45633_images_034d24d4ab40330b658f09c00decabf84597b909.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/3.png": "files/20190326_R45633_images_c3ca8cbb259c1c66fbc000d48b604591970f6074.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/2.png": "files/20190326_R45633_images_83140a177aa801a7ac2785efa9aef451468e3c0e.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/4.png": "files/20190326_R45633_images_142d151805222eeea377c0dd57bad2328463b646.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R45633_files&id=/6.png": "files/20190326_R45633_images_fc822f5bbe36b5392512042b77c6c54b7e941325.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45633", "sha1": "62292c1fa260846c391393180d4bc761790ab7cd", "filename": "files/20190326_R45633_62292c1fa260846c391393180d4bc761790ab7cd.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Economic Policy", "Foreign Affairs", "Intelligence and National Security", "Middle Eastern Affairs", "National Defense" ] }