Whereas the United States remains committed to supporting a sovereign and democratic Iraq at peace with its neighbors and safe for its citizens, regardless of their religion, sect, or ethnicity; Whereas in 2014, forces of the Islamic State (commonly known as IS and also known as ISIS or ISIL ) seized significant territory in Iraq, leading Iraq’s Prime Minister to request international military intervention; Whereas the United States began military intervention against the Islamic State in Iraq in 2014, working with international coalition partners and Iraqi security forces to combat the Islamic State and to retake Iraqi territory from Islamic State fighters; Whereas the Islamic State ruled areas it controlled with terror and brutal violence, including through heinous acts such as mass executions, public beheadings, desecration of holy sites, sexual enslavement and rape, and abuse and torture of minors; Whereas the Government of Iraq declared military victory against the Islamic State in December 2017, but insurgent attacks by remaining terrorist fighters have continued and threaten peace and stability in some areas of Iraq; Whereas an estimated 6 million Iraqis have been rendered internally displaced since 2014, of which 1.4 million remain internally displaced; Whereas members of religious and ethnic minority groups, including Iraqi Christian communities and Yezidis, faced particular brutality under the Islamic State and often lacked the resources and capacity for protection; Whereas the Islamic State’s destructive rule and ensuing military campaign left large areas of key population centers uninhabitable, including Anbar, Salah al-Din, and Ninewa governorates, where efforts at resettlement, reconstruction, service delivery, governance, and security remain challenging