Call the committee to order. The fullommittee hearing on Us Military Mission in afghanistan and the implications of the Peace Process with us involvement. We are doing ts hearing both with some members present and some members remote. We have witnesses that wilbe remote. This the first time we been back for a full Committee Meeting since the covid outbreak so i urge all of you participating and watching to make sure your patnt as we get the bugs out. Before w start the basic rules and outlines of how were doing this hearing i work of the memberwho join us remotely they are reminded they mt be visible on screen within the Software Platform for identityhin verificatn to establish and maintain a quorum and participate in voting. Members participating remotely must use the Software Platform video function while attending the proceeding must they experience connectivity issues that renders the member unable to fully participate on camera if a member has technical difficulties please Contact Committee staff when recognizedec remote participation will be broadcasted in the room for the internet feed members participating remotely are asked to mute the microphone were not speaking they will be recognized normally for asking questions but if they want to speak at another time they must seek recognition verbally in all cases they are reminded to unmute the microphone prior to speaking member should be aware the slight lag of a few seconds before you speak in the camera switching to you. Members are reminded to keep the Software Platform video function on the entire time ify attend the proceeding members depart for sure. Other than joining a different proceeding they should be the video function on if members are absent for a significant period or depart for a different proceeding we should exit entirely and we join if they return. Members are also designate on advisedph to mute the microphone to cancel any background noise members may use the ship black one the platform for statistical issues and finally you should see a fiveminute countdown clock but if necessary i will remind members whether time is up. I was jokingg before this is like trying to launch the space shuttle. Its not quite that bad but there is a lot more technical stuff involved than usual. The purpose is incredibly blportant and very timely and we are lucky to have three outstanding Witnesses Today. The honorable crocker appearing remotely, clear ambassador the Us Foreign Service nonresident senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment and a former ambassador to afghanistan professor of intertional Public Affairs at columbia univerty and i joked senior counsel formulations director of transnational and Senior International program for international studies. Its about 19 years ago we went to afghanistan after just being attacked on september 11 and a credit half out of afghanistan to make sure that never happensag again. And i think that continues to be the top mission we face a threat from transnational terrorist groups and how best to contain it for all the problems and trial problems and difficulties that we had that mission has been successful we have not had a transnational terrorist staff in the us and when we think about all the men and women who served in the military and lost their lives and those who suffered because of this all the state Department Personnel and all the aid workers and allies and partners, keep the night on just keep my not just United States nato and others haveve participated and that has been successful and should not be taken for granted. When we go frommwh t here . While that has been successful there has been a great cost as mentionedd in terms of lives lost were injured in many as well so how do we move forward . We continue to maintain the mission to stop transnational terrorist threat some of the other costs associated is the fact it is disruptive to have foreign troops in a country because we look to contain the terrorist threat working to stop the spread of the toxic ideology the presence of us troops in Foreign Countries is one of those things we cannot deny. If you are in your own town and a foreign troops came rolling through town telling you what you had to do it would not make you feel good about that foreign country would be in a better place if we did not to have our troops in Foreign Countries i think we should never forget that. The other aspect of the missiondi is in addition to transnational terrorist threats it has morphed to bring peace and stability to afghanistan there is a clear reason to that principle is stopping transnational terrorist threats we have learned that ungoverned spacesed make it easier for these terrorist groups to take root and south asia is a place where there is a lot of ideological chances to take advantage so if afghan and one of afghanistan continues will be back where we were with 9 11. I think thats quick a guarantee is some argue that we will not impose piece on afghanistan and to bring a coalition together with corruption and confidence outside forces will not bring peace to afghanistan. One way or the other they will have to make that choice. When we look at afghanistan and theres something we can do to make that different we can ultimately solve the problem c so it seems to me the common sense thing to do is to have the absolute minimum presence required to meet our goal to stop that transnational terrorist threat. I happen to believe we need to draw down because of the cost and the impact its clear we cannot impose piece upon afghanistan. There are a lot of different ways to contain troublesome regions to impose the transnationally threats we have an enormous amount of experienceie whether talking about libya or yemen or somalia or countries in west africa the disruptions present gave instability of violent extremist groups and inesf some cases with the partners in a variety of different ways to contain the threat it doesnt require thousands of us troops in my hope today is witnesses can give us guidance to go forward how to contain the threat coming out of afghanistan and south asia moreta broadly while minimizing the risk and crucially minimizing that disruptive effect the presence of us troops on foreign soil have ever propaganda t that requires this ideological terrorism how do you balance all of that . The president just made his announcement hes pulling out 2500ro troops it is crucial we work with our partners whatever our plans are. It is a crucial moment as we decide our future in afghanistan. Nobody wants to be there foreve forever. Warsnnot have forever and one for the last one day done for the wrong reasons and not necessary is completely and totally wrong. On the other hand if youre going to war i never imagined myself wanting to quote Lindsey Graham but if he said he may be tired of fighting isys but theyre not tired of fighting you thats an important thing to think about how we contain these threats to minimize the rest the risk in the impact of how we do that. With that i turn it over to the Ranking Member foris statements. Thank you mr. Chairman. It is goodo be back in the Armed ServicesCommittee Home because this may well be the last hearing of t session of congress i want to take a ment and just express appreciationpr to you staff for the way u have dealt with incredibly challenging circumstances under covid and yet we have pressed ahead withh hearings and having the bill passed t overwhelmingly in the senate so the business has continued despite of the challenges a that is no small small measure do with all the technical challenges that we face a i appreciate it. This is an important top topic with the military and nationall securi apparatuses more focused on gat power coetition but the terrorist threat has not gone away. It is one of the challenges of our time that we have to worryut about the wide range of threats. The other ing i want to emphasize, which you mentioned and maybe we dont say it enough, is that whent comes to National Security, its ha to prove what did not happen. And in the case of aricans who f have fought and some died, to pvent a repeat, or rse of 9 11, it is very impoant for those who participated in family members whlost loved ones to know that it has been the last years has seen farther one far greater success than i have ever expected from september 11, ec2011. 01. Nothing on the scale of 9 11 ande know the classified briefings and so far worse the appropriate appreciation to the military but also the Intelligence Community of Law Enforcement to help prevent that what we need to say and recognize more oen. Its very important to have this hearing and i should say by the wayhe hearing on afghanistan has been on our agenda for months. But ithsbu turns out it is a timely hearing today and the goal all of us had is for the afghans to handle their security with the transnational threat i did not believe they are there yet and i look forward to hearing from them with the unilateral withdrawal and wh the Incoming Biden Administration with the afghan a a broader situation i look forward to hearing from them and appreciate their participation. I yield back. The first witness the honorable crocker just promote good one he was joining us remotely you are recognize. Thank you mr. Chairman and Ranking Member thornberry. Can you hear me . Yes. Loud and clear. I would know i come to you this morning from the great state of washington that zero dark 30 i approve of that and i wish i was there as well. You in the Ranking Member ha summarized very well the central question as a nation after 19re years pretty basic and pretty crual that nothing again er comes out of ahanistan. After two dades its important and to remind ourselves after 11 the taliban was givenou a choice we are enjoying aafe haven in afghanistan. Will not take military action or they could stand pat and they cse the latter. For almost t decades. So when the taliban sees the end end things the opportunity to return to control. I have the privilegef opening the embassy in afghanistan 200 what i saw was the utter devastation and then immediately awe of the profound damage to decades of nflict has done to the afghanan people. Especily with women and girls in afghanist. And then totl move swiftly to repair the damage to the Human Capital as well as the physical. We opened goal schools right away. The chairman of the Senate ForeignRelations Committee and took him to visit a girls school at the First Grade Class with girls ranging from agsix to 12. The 12 yearold came of schoolage. So i saw a unique a opportunity here as the committee knoso well. With the national valu and National Security agenda. And with our vals and her interest to dictate we be prent that we ensure the taliban and d not return the alli on the best way to do that so in 2002 and afghan schools as ambassador a decade lar and when i ended that post 8 Million Students and 35 percent were girls over the long run it is the Afghan People here have to make peace with the educated population and then to play the role they deserve in the momentous decisions. And a strategic patience and king us engagements. But this was launched almt two years ago and we agreed to a longstanding taliban demand but t with the Afghan Government in the room so with the Peace Process these are surrender talks waving a white flag basically saying to the tele band you win we lose do this as best we can Early Morning the terrorist peace talks with vietnam to push that parallel too hard and too far and in vietnam the vietcong the north vietnamese attacks the homeland al qaeda did attack the homeland from afghanistan hosted by the tele band they have not become kinder and gentler in the intervening years. Im afraid to say it is folly to make a safer order to uphold the core values. And then we heard from the secretarygeneral expressing his concern and to cut in half already the small number of troops we have in afghanistan. I commend you for holding this hearing. And then to minimize the cost and human losse. Part of a working group particular by the rockefellers counsel to do just that b we have to show the strategic patience that we need to face down a determined enemy. I like to take just a moment on another special a group of individuals that ha sacrificed a great deal for us. Those are our i interpreters and other afghan individuals who thought the mission in that country and he rently received a letter from senators shaheen and worker asking about the necessary steps and the immediate families. There is a backlog of almost 18000 casesnd these are individuals that are under a more serious risk and a group dedicated to bring the interpreters here to safet with 300 individuals and interpreters have been killed waiting for the visa that we promised and how delivered slowly and in disappointingly small numbers. And urging the committee to do the right thinthat we promised to bring these brave people home, their new home. And with the own core values we can be grateful and the wod is watching to see i commend this committee for its suppt for the special immigrant visa program and i urge you take the steps to see these people can lea danger behind they earned it thank youu mr. Chairman. Coming to us remotely doctor you are recognized for your opening remarks. I would like to thank the committee for this opportunity for the important choices it faces. Also its an honor to be part of a panel to colagues i have respected and aired. And to summarize the key part for my written submission but that was prior to todays announcement of the 50 percent reduction of troop strength in afghanistan. And with the opening comments chiefly to respond to the nouncement and thoughts on where us policy should go from here. So any other aspect is that in my view the policy announced s a mistake i suspect like all of us we would like to see the troopsome home but when and how . It seems a progressive and incremental withdrawal in my view is the worst of three possible options before us. Total withdrawal no withdrawal without a negotiated settlement and the announced policy of partial unilateral drawdowns and as i argue in my submission the interest are best served by nfurther withdrawals without a settlement to end the war. We should maintain the current troop level for the political value is bargaining leverage with the ongoi talks between the Afghan Government and the tele band and that we should be prepared to witraw those and thetoirely get such concessions from the negotiations. Premis on my hope it is achievable with that leverage carefully. Is much as the troop presence in my own viewnd do not give this away unrequited. The reasonable case can be made the prognosis for successful negotiation is soo poor this is this but this is apo reasonable position the implation would be total withdrawal and more expensive during the 2009 but to sacrifice all the same and they cannot maintain the current stalemate and definitely even if we maintain the small us psence. The battlefield situation that is a stalemate and that the Afghan Government will eventuly lose unless the trends reverse. Doctor you went silent on us. I apologize for that. Sorry. You are back. Some argue i am better went silent but i think the committees purposes are better served. You are back to go ahead. [laughter] the point i was making i assume that i went silent is that it became a military stalemate if nothing changes we will eventually lose the war. And with that implies is that in the long run it is either eventual defeat or some kind of negotiated settlement but if that settlement isea impossible and then better served and then to lose more expensively and then to prolong the process of failure andth cost. And instead what the administration announced on tuesday a more expensive version of failure whatever but i think several the prognosis it goes down every time we announce partial withdrawals. We have to achieve remaining sources of leverage the promise of federal one of aid in the troop presence the taliban wants us out this is among the most consistent and off expressed names in the negotiation where we are radically leveraged for troop withdrawal is a crucial bargaining chip and in fact the political is now in my view the most important contribution us forces make to the war. Us airstrikes in particular to enable our afghan allies to maintain a stalemate. And in my view the most important contribution they make their when we gradually draw down the true present to reduce the leverage available from the trooper presence to negotiate relatively favorable terms for the talks. And then encourage the taliban to freeze the talks. And when they keep giving away with a want for free . Stepbystep and every time we reduce for the Afghan Security forces and those that might break under the strain of reduce support. And then that gives them for their incentive to wait to see if the opposition on the battlefield could melt away. Even the Afghan Security forces dont break altogether and then with the faster expansion of territorial population control and then further in the tele bands direction reducing the scale of concessions and then with the real bargaining incremental withdrawal. And that prognosis i believe the potential bargaining space bar negotiatednt settlement with the afghan allies and for the outright defeat but if we reduce the bargaining space women to suspend further drawdowns but then if one disagrees of the men that just makes it more expensive. Thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you very much. So i thank you chairman sm