national strategy for victory in iraq - NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL - NOVEMBER 2005

The following document articulates the broad strategy the President set forth in 2003
and provides an update on our progress as well as the challenges remaining.

“The United States has no intention of determining the precise form of Iraq’s new
government. That choice belongs to the Iraqi people. Yet, we will ensure that one
brutal dictator is not replaced by another. All Iraqis must have a voice in the new
government, and all citizens must have their rights protected.

Rebuilding Iraq will require a sustained commitment from many nations, including
our own: we will remain in Iraq as long as necessary, and not a day more.”

- President George W. Bush, February 26, 2003

Table of Contents

ƒ Executive Summary .......................................................................................... 1

PART I
Strategic Overview

ƒ Victory in Iraq Defined ..................................................................................... 3

ƒ Victory in Iraq is a Vital U.S. Interest............................................................... 4

ƒ The Benefits of Victory in Iraq ......................................................................... 4

ƒ The Consequences of Failure ............................................................................ 5

ƒ Our Enemies and Their Goals ........................................................................... 6

ƒ The Strategy of Our Enemies ............................................................................ 7

ƒ Our Strategy for Victory is Clear ...................................................................... 7

A. The Political Track (Isolate, Engage, Build)
B. The Security Track (Clear, Hold, Build)
C. The Economic Track (Restore, Reform, Build)
ƒ This Strategy is Integrated, and its Elements are Mutually Reinforcing........... 9

ƒ Victory Will Take Time .................................................................................. 10

ƒ Why Our Strategy Is (and Must Be) Conditions-Based.................................. 11

ƒ Our Strategy Tracks and Measures Progress................................................... 12

PART II
Strategy in Detail

ƒ The Political Track in Detail ........................................................................... 14

ƒ The Security Track in Detail ........................................................................... 18

ƒ The Economic Track in detail ......................................................................... 22

ƒ Organization for Victory ................................................................................. 25

ƒ The Eight Pillars.............................................................................................. 27

Executive Summary
OUR NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR VICTORY IN IRAQ:
Helping the Iraqi People Defeat the Terrorists and Build an Inclusive Democratic State

¾ Victory in Iraq is Defined in Stages
• Short term, Iraq is making steady progress in fighting terrorists, meeting political milestones,
building democratic institutions, and standing up security forces.
• Medium term, Iraq is in the lead defeating terrorists and providing its own security, with a fully
constitutional government in place, and on its way to achieving its economic potential.
• Longer term, Iraq is peaceful, united, stable, and secure, well integrated into the international
community, and a full partner in the global war on terrorism.

¾ Victory in Iraq is a Vital U.S. Interest
• Iraq is the central front in the global war on terror. Failure in Iraq will embolden terrorists and
expand their reach; success in Iraq will deal them a decisive and crippling blow.
• The fate of the greater Middle East – which will have a profound and lasting impact on American
security – hangs in the balance.

¾ Failure is Not an Option
• Iraq would become a safe haven from which terrorists could plan attacks against America, American
interests abroad, and our allies.
• Middle East reformers would never again fully trust American assurances of support for democracy
and human rights in the region – a historic opportunity lost.
• The resultant tribal and sectarian chaos would have major consequences for American security and
interests in the region.

¾ The Enemy Is Diffuse and Sophisticated
• The enemy is a combination of rejectionists, Saddamists, and terrorists affiliated with or inspired by
Al Qaida. Distinct but integrated strategies are required to defeat each element.
• Each element shares a common short-term objective – to intimidate, terrorize, and tear down – but
has separate and incompatible long-term goals.
• Exploiting these differences within the enemy is a key element of our strategy.

¾ Our Strategy for Victory is Clear
• We will help the Iraqi people build a new Iraq with a constitutional, representative government that
respects civil rights and has security forces sufficient to maintain domestic order and keep Iraq from
becoming a safe haven for terrorists. To achieve this end, we are pursuing an integrated strategy
along three broad tracks, which together incorporate the efforts of the Iraqi government, the
Coalition, cooperative countries in the region, the international community, and the United Nations.

• The Political Track involves working to forge a broadly supported national compact for democratic
governance by helping the Iraqi government:
9 Isolate enemy elements from those who can be won over to the political process by countering
false propaganda and demonstrating to all Iraqis that they have a stake in a democratic Iraq;
9 Engage those outside the political process and invite in those willing to turn away from violence
through ever-expanding avenues of participation; and
9 Build stable, pluralistic, and effective national institutions that can protect the interests of all
Iraqis, and facilitate Iraq’s full integration into the international community.