Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2007 - Continued

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007--Continued -- (Senate - August 02, 2006)

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Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To require a new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq)

On page 150, line 24, insert before the period the following: ``: Provided, That Director of National Intelligence shall, utilizing amounts appropriated by this heading, prepare by not later than October 1, 2006, a new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq with an assessment by the intelligence community of critical political, economic, and security trends in Iraq, which shall address such matters as the Director of National Intelligence considers appropriate, including (1) an assessment whether Iraq is in or is descending into civil war and the actions that will prevent or reverse deterioration of conditions promoting civil war, including sectarianism, (2) an assessment whether Iraq is succeeding in standing up effective security forces, and the actions that will increase the chances of that occurring, including an assessment of (A) the extent to which militias are providing security in Iraq, and (B) the extent to which the Government of Iraq has developed and implemented a credible plan to disarm and demobilize and reintegrate militias into government security forces and is working to obtain a political commitment from political parties to ban militias, (3) an assessment of (A) the extent of the threat from violent extremist-related terrorism, including al Qaeda, in and from Iraq, (B) the extent to which terrorism in Iraq has exacerbated terrorism in the region and globally, (C) the extent to which terrorism in Iraq has increased the threat to United States persons and interests around the world, and (D) actions to address the terrorist threat, (4) an assessment whether Iraq is succeeding in creating a stable and effective unity government, the likelihood that changes to the constitution will be made to address concerns of the Sunni community, and the actions that will increase the chances of that occurring, (5) an assessment (A) whether Iraq is succeeding in rebuilding its economy and creating economic prosperity for Iraqis, (B) the likelihood that economic reconstruction in Iraq will significantly diminish the dependence of Iraq on foreign aid to meet its domestic economic needs, and (C) the actions that will increase the chances of that occurring, (6) a description of the optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic scenarios for the stability of Iraq through 2007, (7) an assessment whether, and in what ways, the large-scale presence of multinational forces in Iraq helps or hinders the chances of success in Iraq; and (8) an assessment of the extent to which the situation in Iraq is affecting relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and other countries in the region: Provided further, That, not later than October 1, 2006, the Director of National Intelligence shall submit to Congress the National Intelligence Estimate prepared under the preceding proviso, together with an unclassified summary of the National Intelligence Estimate: Provided further, That if the Director of National Intelligence is unable to submit the National Intelligence Estimate by the date specified in the preceding proviso, the Director shall submit to Congress, not later than that date, a report setting forth the reasons for being unable to do so''.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, this is a request for a national intelligence estimate on Iraq. We haven't had one now for 2 years. I have talked with the managers. They will review it. It is under consideration. They will let us know. We will have further comments on it later. The managers understand this, and I hope we will have an opportunity to dispose of it a little later.

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