Transcripts For CSPAN2 House Foreign Affairs Hearing On Syri

CSPAN2 House Foreign Affairs Hearing On Syria Study Group Report July 13, 2024

This hearing will come to order and we welcome everyone. The subcommittee testimony on the findings and recommendations in the study groups final report. Given the timing of the hearing we will have the opportunity to discuss the ramifications of the policy changes in syria and a study Group Recommendations to still address the challenges that are. For the purpose of an opening statement. Thank you very much for testifying today and for your work and the final report of the study group. Your report as a thoughtful review of the conflict and provides pragmatic recommendations for how policymakers can protect u. S. Interests and destabilize syria. Now it is well known President Trump does not like to read but i wish that he had skimmed over the executive summary before the recent phone call with the turkish president. Your assessment notes do not eliminate the threat to the United States. It also notes the detainee population is a longterm challenge is not being adequately addressed and iran continues to entrench itself in russia and iran show few signs of divergence. The turkish incursion would represent a major setback at a crisis for the relationship and despite the challenges the United States maintains letters that protects the core u. S. National security interests. To withdraw u. S. Forces in northEastern Syria and consent to the invasion in the region, your assessment has in fact sadly worn out. Rarely as a foreignpolicy decision by the United States president yielded this many disastrous consequences this quickly. Most importantly the choice makes the American People less safe. Deliberately releasing the detainees and tigers and as your report notes theyve transitioned to the insurgency and in the absence of pressure against it will utilize for constructing the external attacks. Tragically like other aspects of your assessment i expect this to ring true in the coming weeks and im spent also forced to reach an agreement allowing them to expand into northEastern Syria. Yesterday, Russian Media circulated a video showing the soldiers and their proxy is taking over the recently abandoned u. S. Bases in the region. This outcome will also benefit iran by reinforcing the position of its ally is unclear how allowing them to fortify the land bridge to the mediterranean and enabling it to threaten our ally is consistent with the maximum pressure policy on iran. Both placed american troops typically in harms way to protect President Trumps choice and he is reducing the presence in terminating americas endless war but they said a sent an addl 1800 troops to saudi arabia. They noted on friday an additional 14,000 american personnel have been the plate in the middle east since may. Patriot air and Missile Defense and the b52 bombers and aircraft carriers to support the objective of the increase to the tour iran but the claim that he is reducing the role in the middle east is a lie and the American People see right through it. One of the notable successes in the middle east yielding u. S. Leverage and putting them in danger undermining the credibility, dividing nato, removing pressure on isis for the partners that fought valiantly in recent to counter them with american support. This is not just my opinion but one that most republicans share. Its the biggest blunder of the presidency and noticed we are witnessing ethnic cleansing, the destruction of the reliable ally in the reemergence of isis. The choice was impossible to understand. The former ambassador argued that they were instrumental in the successful fight leaving them to die is a big mistake. Not one decision could unite democrats and republicans and deal yields this result it epitomizes the approaches of the world and i would urge my republican colleagues to remember that its not the only example President Trump would help 391 million since the ukraine and stayed at war with russia in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people as part of an effort to compel them to dig up dirt on the political opponent that should unite us all in rejecting a foreignpolicy experts ambition over National Interest and so lead ousullyour nations honor d credibility. I look forward to the testimonies and suggestions on how to achieve the National Interest. With that i will yield to mr. Wilson for his opening statement. Thank you for calling this important hearing. The United States and syrian policy has been an example of the american strategic failure at every point from the notorious red line by president barack obama that was never enforced in the recent days that i believe that our failure is far greater than a strategic misstep. The policy over the last eight years represents a challenge to all of us. We said here over eight years after they began butchering people still tr trying to figure out what the policy should be, but its not just us it is the International Community that is complicit. The International System was founded in the aftermath of the humanitarian catastrophe of the holocaust but has failed to prevent the tragedy that it was supposed to act against. Theyve hijacked the multilateral institutions instead of promoting liberty they are exploited to cement tyranny and oppression. It developments over the past week have underscored the importance of the work that our witnesses here today have spent so much time. I was deeply disappointed by the administrations decision to withdraw and putting our kurdish allies in a great bill if warned against the withdrawal and the consequences that we are witnessing today like the chairman, i am increasingly concerned about the research of the heels on the withdrawal. It creates dangerous breathing room for the elements in the region which can ultimately endanger American Families back home from safe havens overseas. In order to prevent them from coming here, we must fight them over there. About a thousand american soldiers was a minuscule percentage of all the military forces in uniform today that the role of this was outsized. They helped protect the world from the dangers of establishing safe havens to threaten American Families. This was extremely Cost Effective in the military investment. It seems to be the only real winners of the withdrawal are russia, iran, turkey and the despotic regime in addition to the isis took her breasts. But the problem is that the withdrawal could have consequences in virtually every other arena of the u. S. Foreign policy. The move solidifies a concern and fear america is receiving from the world stage inspiring and enabling the forces everywhere which has not been the policy of peace through strength. The reports over the past few days indicate that russia has intentionally bombed over a dozen hospitals and dissent in t important that an adversary. How many must be killed until we take action to stop this killing machine, there is simply no solution for syria. We know that america has been the actor on the world stage. Weve always aimed to do the right thing and the people of the world know that. They know that the values america has stood for. We believe we still can return to that idea and in my opinion there is no substitute for the American Leadership to preserve peace or strength. I will yield back the balance of my time. Thank you mr. Chair and Ranking Member wilson for your opening statement. I dont object to withdrawing the troops. I object and how it was done because the impulsive decision with no planning and no coordination we now have the isis theater risks that have been set free and Turkish Forces and Russian Military forces taking over the u. S. Military facilities. The i think that its appropriate for the American People to ask the question when it comes to vladimir putin, why does it always seem like donald trump bends the knee . I yield back. The situation has been a tragedy to watch unfold over the past eight years weve witnessed how brutal he truly is and the length he is willing to go to hold onto power. Hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions forced to flee creating one of the worst refugee crises today. The civil war also created a vacuum for groups like isis and al qaeda while opening a doorway to advance its goal of regional hegemony and further enabling it to threaten our key ally in the region, israel. I look forward to discussing the report especially in light of the changes on the policy since it was released and how we can move forward to accomplish our objectives. Huge bipartisan majorities rejected a half an hour ago on the floor. We saw northeast syria stable now they are subject to slaughter and isis may very well be liberated. It is a mistake made in good faith at a level with the American People, the president decided to pretend that this was some sort of a voluntary withdrawal. This cutting and running will not only imperil our policy in the middle east but it will undercut our alliances everywhere in the world. I yield back. President trump sealed the fate when he gave the president of turkey the green light to invade setting off a humanitarian disaster and reigniting chaos. I believe this callous heartless decision will go down in history allowing them to go free and seeing the influence like many im mystified by the administrations decision to allow them to go forward in their attempt to clean up the mess that they have made no matter what they do the administration cant bring back burger to kurdish children or reclaim the position and they cant bring back the credibility that has been squandered as we portray the trust of our kurdish allies. Thank you to the witnesses and i look forward to your views on the efforts we can make and what actions you would recommend to the administration in this situation and with that i will yield back. Without objection, all members have five minutes to veto days subject to the length, limitations and rules and it is now my pleasure to introduce the witnesses. The senior fellow in the policys program and previously served five years as a senior professional staff member on the state of the relations committ committee. Before capitol hill she worked in the office of secretary of defense and at the u. S. Embassy and Political Affairs at the institute of peace and civilian military relations in iraq and the National Democratic institute on the gulf affairs. Also the cochair of the study group is the managing director of the Washington Institute for policy and previously served as a director for Near East Affairs and the white house from 2007 to 2008 and for several middle Eastern Countries including iran and syria on the staff of 2005 to 2007 he also served as a special assistant to the secretaries of state colin powell and condoleezza rice. Thank you for being here today your statements will be made part of the hearing record. Thank you both for being here at this moment in particular and we will now start. You are recognized for five minutes. Thank you mr. Chairman for this opportunity for the report of the mandated group. It was an honor to cochair the group of experts along with my colleague. When the study Group Released its final report last month, we intentionally started by articulating why they still matter. Making this case isnt something our group took for granted especially at the time of heightened public debate about the role in the world and what we should invest to achieve u. S. Objectives. They are unanimous in their conclusion that what happens moreover we argue it is resourced and prioritized the compelling forms of life rich in the specific assessment and recommendations but needless to say it still matters. The fundamental drivers of conflict and violence are unchanged today. Notably there is acknowledgment of these points in congress and the conflict was largely delegated to the margins of public attention before last week. Now it is front and center of International Headlines and its captured domestic attention. As the executive and legislative branches of the u. S. Government worked to articulate for the u. S. Policy can realistically achieve when the majority of the forces in syria are withdrawn, the report proposes a series of specific nonmilitary recommendation to. But its also important to take a step back and remind ourselves of the orders of this conflict and situate within the broad strategic landscape of the u. S. National security. Syria opposes five strategic challenges. International terrorism, iran, russia, refugees and International Norms. The current conflict began as peaceful protests against an autocratic dictator, one of the many uprisings in 2011. Though many hoped the protests might open up the door to positive change, those hopes were quickly dashed as the result into a crucible of intersecting conflicts that had reverberated well beyond the middle east. The regime survived in power for decades by operating at the intersection of criminality and terrorism. The United States designated syria as a statesponsored and service him in 1979. We know the nature of this regime. They facilitated the movement of the operatives during the iraq war to attack the forces and he will seek to leverage al qaeda and fighters again when it suits his needs. Today they provide safe havens for the worlds most dangerous to business groups. For example, it is the home to the greatest concentration of foreign fighters since afghanistan in the 1980s. Oasis no longer holds the territory that was already reconstituting as an insurgent force. It will replenish its ranks breaking out of detention facilities today and will prey on vulnerable communities as the humanitarian situation deteriorates. It seeks to turn syria into the base for its missiles and advanced weapons and has exploited the conflict to entrench itself in the economic and social fabric. The strikes and the sanctions prevented iran from consolidating these game that the increased risk of the war between iran and israel it is now increased today. Russia has exploited the conflict. Though its intervention in syria must establish itself as a major player in the middle east for the first time in decades the u. S. Partners across the region have expanded the thais have moved to moscow not washington for mediation. Refugees have strained with the neighbors and politics in europe, yet the conditions are not suitable for the safe and voluntary dignified return in the enormous conflict by targeting hospitals and schools, deploying chemical weapons and using starvation as offensive or. To date there have been no meaningful consequences for these actions. We should expect future authoritarians when faced with peaceful protests may look to the case and assume that nasa civilian homicide will not be challenged in any credible way setting precedents for calm in the war. I only have a few seconds left. Its a conflict where the great concerns International Terrorism and great power rivals come together. It is not a conflict that can be contained or ignored. The development of shapin shapie battlefield and political realignment will not end this conflict. It will only set the conditions for the next phase of the war. The report remains relevant today which my colleagu colleagl not detail. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as the chairman of the study group and it was an honor to serve alongside. Theyve resisted our efforts over the years to the more it and to contain the conflict and as is to say it still matters. The reports that we put out just a couple of weeks ago offers what i think is a pretty sobering assessment of the conflict. I wouldnt want to give the impression everything was hunky dory before the recent decisions, but in the last few days things have gotten much worse i would say. The report at its core strategy of consolidating and working towards a political settlement to the conflict which is ultimately what is necessary to address all of those problems and taking steps to protect american interests if such a settlement could be reached in this proven elusive. At the time we put out our report, our view had such a strategy that essentially the strategy was undermined by a couple of big things. Trying to recruit other countries to contribute militarily to the conflict u. S. Officials are going to need to scramble to reverse engineer strategy to conform with the decisions that have been made by the white house in recent days. Rather than consolidating, my fear is those that weve made in northEastern Syria are going to be reversed and the political settlement on the terms favorable is now less likely and this is not a decision being made by the white house. This is also the result of poor planning because as i think the congressman said, in many ways this was a Long Time Coming and we see no evidence that this decision by the turks was met with any kind of Contingency Planning by the government. We have u. S. Forces under fire withdrawing under fire for the First Time Since somalia but its coming from the nato allies and i think if we stop for a moment and let that sink in, it is extraordinary. The consequences of the u. S. Withdrawal i worry what we are going to see is a cascade effect in obviously the report doesnt get into this because it is relatively new, but its based upon what we learned in the briefings. My concern is now using the force was moving north to meet the turkish incursion into u. S. Forces moving out of syria. This creates a vacuum and to potentially not just break out of prison but to conduct attacks to try to be consolidated some of its control of terr

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