Assistant defense secretary Randall Schriver testifies about how to train and advise Afghan Forces. Senator bob corker chairs this twohour hearin. Senate Foreign Relations committee will come to order. We thank all those in attendance. In rolling out its new south asia strategy last august, the administration underscored the United States hard fought security gains in afghanistan and reiterated our commitment to helping establish a foundation for political resolution. With recent reports of shrinking government control of territory, continued high attrition of Afghan Forces and deadly attacks in kabul by haqqani and isis khorasan, it is clear that foundation is a long way off, but we are encouraged by the troop strength authorized in the new strategy at 12,300 military personnel, with an additional 1,000 on request, which is approaching the level our force commander requested in 2014. Our nato and nonnato allies have also reenforced their troop commitments and support to Afghan Forces through 2020. U. S. Commander general nicholson says he now has what he needs to assist afghans in achieving a sustainable outcome for afghanistan and the region. The new conditionsbased approach provides afghans, our allies as well as the taliban a clear signal of american commitment as the National Unity government pursues critical reform and selfreliance efforts. This administration is also rightly drawn a clear line with pakistan, suspending Security Assistance of over 1 billion as long as islamabad continues to shelter haqqani and other terror groups that target innocent civilians as well as u. S. And allied forces. This more pointed approach is designed to confront pakistans duplicity and its actions to provide safe harbor to the greatest threat to our efforts in afghanistan. The administration has also prioritized a broad diplomatic effort as key to stable, sustainable and a selfgoverning afghanistan that is at peace with its neighbors. I am pleased to hear that deputy secretary sullivan and general votel were recently in kabul, showing our resolve in the face of four deadly attacks. Two attributed to the haqqanis and two attributed to isiskhorasan. These attacks highlight the deadly threats that remain and we must counteract them with a far more unified international community. While President Trump and president ghani have stated that these attacks may preclude a Peace Process with the taliban at the moment, it is incumbent upon us to be ready when that moment occurs. I welcome our witnesses and hope to hear more specifics of this strategy, especially in the area of economic and personal diplomacy, in order to make the most of military gains general mickleson projects. With that, ill turn to our distinguished Ranking Member, ben cardin. Thank you, mr. Chairman. A very much appreciate this hearing on afghanistan so we can hear from the administration in regards to its strategies on afghanistan moving forward. We have two very distinguished witnesses. Secretary schriver, i appreciate the fact that the department of defense is present and represented here today. As you know, during the syria hearings we were unable to get a representative from the department of defense and i think that was unfortunate. We still have not had a classified briefing on the u. S. Troop presence moving forward in syria. I hope that will take place. Afghanistan, 16 years of u. S. Combat in afghanistan. Significant u. S. Investment of our blood and treasure. And we are finding out that it is much harder to make peace than war, which is something that we always know is a challenge. All of us condemn the recent carnage that was caused by the insurgents and terrorists in the attack last month. And we very much are committed to ending the violence in afghanistan. But the question is, what is the u. S. Policy as it relates to resolving longterm peace in afghanistan . Mr. Chairman, i note President Trumps comment to the United Nations security council, and here i think were finding conflicting messages as to what the u. S. Policy is in afghanistan. The president set, we dont want to talk to the taliban, were going to finish what we have to finish. What nobody else has been able to finish, we are going to be able to do it. Well, that raises the question as to whether the president believes that this is a militaryonly operation, which i certainly disagree with. I notice that one day after the president s remarks, our witness, secretary sullivan, said that the strategy is to convince the taliban or significant elements of the taliban that there isnt a military solution to the security situation here, that ultimately the peace and security of afghanistan will be determined by peace talks. So, mr. Secretary, i agree with that comment. I think thats where our strategy should be. But the question is, is it clear to our stakeholders globally what the u. S. Policy is in afghanistan . Does the administration really believe that a simple suspens n suspension excuse me. So do we have a clear message as to what the u. S. Policy is in regards to our partners in that region . And i hope well have a chance to talk about that today. I want to hear, as i mentioned to you before coming into the chamber, i want to review here today our regional efforts in regards to pakistan and how that impacts on our strategies in afghanistan. Does the administration really believe that a simple suspension of Security Assistance is going to bring about a lasting commitment by pakistan to drop support for the Afghan Taliban or the Haqqani Network . It hasnt before. Weve tried it several times over the past 16 years. I have little confidence that such behavorial change is coming. So are we prepared to do more to elicit the behavorial change we want or is this just more about the same . Assistant secretary schriver, i also hope you can give us a clear detailed sense of the military conflict on the ground. I understand that much of the u. S. Military strategy has focused on supporting Afghan Security forces efforts to protect Population Centers. Judging from the devastating recent attacks in kabul, something clearly is not working. We see that the taliban contest or control an increasing swath of the afghan territory. It competes with isis for influence, leading to more and more brutal attacks. By any standard, the current security situation is grim. The bottom line is, the administration consistently says that it has a conditionbased strategy contrasted with the approach taken by the obama administration. But the administration has yet to articulate with any precision what those conditions are. What is the end state that the u. S. And nato troops are fighting for . Weve been there 16 years. Should the American People simply accept that this is, indeed, a forever war . To me the answer is a clear and resounding no. There is no military solution to the conflict in afghanistan. Last year, i introduced legislation that would boost diplomatic and program pursuing justice for war time atrocities and accountability for human rights abuses and corruption by afghan officials that continue to undermine the Peace Process. I stand ready as i think the members of this committee to work with the administration so that we have a clear policy for an end game in afghanistan that can bring stability to the people of afghanistan, allow our troops to come home and really achieve, i hope, which is our objective. Thank you for those comments. With that, id like to recognize our distinguished witnesses today. Our first witness is the honorable john sullivan. The deputy secretary of state. Our second witness is the honorable Randall Schriver, assistant secretary of defense for asian and pacific affairs. We appreciate you being here. Its a timely hearing. If you can keep your comments to five minutes, that would be great. Any written testimony you have without objection will be entered into the record. With that, secretary sullivan, we appreciate it if you would begin. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Good morning, Ranking Member cardin, members of the committee. Thank you for inviting me here today to provide an update on the administrations south asia policy, particularly as it applies to afghanistan. I want to begin by offering my thoughts on afghanistan in light of my trip to kabul last week and talk about how we are engaging together with our partners across the interagency in a regional approach in south asia to bolster stability in the region and in afghanistan in particular. During my trip, i was first and foremost able to extend in person our condolences, thoughts and prayers to the hundreds of victims and their families, all of those who were affected by the recent terrible acts of violent terrorism. The United States remains firmly committed to supporting the Afghan People in their governments efforts to achieve peace, security and prosperity for their country. While in kabul, i met with president ghani, chief executive abdullah and other Afghan Partners. Every leader reiterated their support for our strategy and their commitment to creating the conditions that will bring the taliban to the negotiating table as senator cardin mentioned in his opening remarks. Thereby establishing an environment for sustained peace. These leaders also reaffirmed their support for the afghanistan compact, a series of benchmarks established by the afghans to implement reforms in security, governance, rule of law, Economic Development and peace and reconciliation. President ghani and i cochaired an executive Committee Meeting of the compact where we reviewed and highlighted progress on those benchmarks. I also discussed with the afghan leadership the critical importance of timely, credible and transparent elections. Its vital that parliamentary and president ial elections take place this year and next respectively, and that they reflect the will of the Afghan People and create an inclusive government that continues to implement these fundamental reforms. In addition to shifting to a conditionsbased approach instead of one predicated on arbitrary timelines, the south asia strategy marks a change from the status quo in u. S. Pakistan relations. We intend to hold pakistan accountable for its failure to deny sanctuary to militant proxies. We encourage restraint in pakistans military, nuclear and missile programs and seek continued closer alignment of pakistans nonproliferation policies with our own. We continue to value our relationship with pakistan and recognize the benefit of cooperation. Pakistan has played an Important Role in pushing al qaeda closer to defeat, combatting isis, securing its nuclear weapons, hosting afghan refugees, and importantly, providing access for supplies and equipment used by u. S. And Afghan Forces. We also acknowledge the enormous sacrifices the pakistani people and Security Forces have made to combat terrorism. We have shared with pakistan our south asia strategy in detail and have made our expectations clear to pakistan, emphasizing that they must take Decisive Action against all militant and terrorist groups based there. In january, the president suspended Security Assistance to the pakistani military, with limited exceptions for programs that directly support u. S. National security interests, which would be decided on a case by case basis. We may consider lifting the suspension when we see decisive and sustained actions to address our concerns, including targeting all terrorist groups operating within its territory without distinction. The United States is committed to doing our part to reduce tensions in the region in ways that address pakistans legitimate concerns. To be clear, we oppose the use of terrorist proxies by any country against another country anywhere in the world. The use of terrorism has no place in a rulesbased international system. We hope the pakistanis will also help to convince the taliban to enter into a Peace Process. We continue to deepen our Strategic Partnership with india. Secretary tillerson travelled to new delhi for consultations in october of 2017 and we expect to launch our inaugural two plus two dialogue with india this spring when secretary tillerson and secretary mattis will meet with their india counterparts to further deepen our security ties. The United States and india share economic and humanitarian interests in afghanistan. India has allocated more than 3 billion in assistance to afghanistan since 2001. India further strengthened ties with afghanistan with the signing of a Development Partnership agreement last year. We appreciate these contributions and we look forward for more ways to work with india to promote Economic Growth and security in afghanistan. The United States is also strengthening our partnerships with the Central Asian republics. We are committed to supporting their independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty and fostering regional connectivity. Two weeks ago, i attended a c5plus one in a discussion on afghanistan at the u. N. Security council where we discussed our bilateral and multilateral efforts to support afghanistan and enhance Central Asian cooperation. Cau these initiates and others have helped the effort to build stability in afghanistan and provide a better security and more Economic Opportunity for the people of central asia. Despite recent setbacks stemming from the horrific and senseless acts of violence we witnessed recently, the president s south asia strategy is showing some signs of progress. On the battlefield, were seeing the talibans momentum begin to slow. No major Population Center has fallen to the taliban since its temporary occupation of kandu city in 2014. Afghan forces are now on the offensive. Our allies and nato partners contributing more than 6,500 troops are antily supporting our vision for a process process afghanistan. In the Afghan Government, we have a partner that is tackling challenges, including corruptions that have greatly hindered progress to date. Thank you and i look forward to answering your questions. Thank you very much. Secretary schriver, sir. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman, Ranking Member carver and other distinguished members of the committee. Im thankful for the opportunity to give the do. O. D. Perspective on the implementation of our south asia strategy. To address the enduring interests we have in south asia and afghanistan in particular. South asia is home to two nucleararmed countries. Its also home to the highest concentration of u. S. Designated foreign terrorist groups so we have enduring interests there. Our strategy emphasizes Regional Cooperation to reduce the threat of terrorism, reduce the threat and possibility of Nuclear Conflict and to put pressure on the taliban and other parties to seek reck sills. Reconciliation. We remain engaged with pakistan to protect americans, to protect our homeland and ensure there are no safe havens from which terrorists can plan and operate to support attacks. Our strategy focuses on the region as a whole and shifts from a timebased approach to a conditions on the ground approach and promotes political settlement. Regarding afghanistan, we focus on four key pillars known as the socalled four rs. Regionizatio regionalization, realignment, reconciliation neutral easing potential spoilers and creating the conditions for durable political solutions. As the deputy secretary noted, i would also note we were pleased with indias role in this regard and their decision to increase economic and humanitarian aid to afghanistan. As he also noted, we have shifted our approach on pakistan. They are an important partner and theyre absolutely key to our strategy succeeding. During secretary mattis trip at the end of last year to pakistan, he made clear that we appreciate the sacrifices theyve made on the war on terror. Our interest in continuing to partner with them, but he also made clear that we must see a change in pakistans behavior, in particular areas where we have great concerns. Reenforcement involves improving the Afghanistan National defense and Security Force capabilities and their effectiveness. We do so by providing advisory support and tailored commitment and training and assistance in expanding the size and reach of the more highperforming forces, the special forces of afghanistan. We also do this by assisting in areas where they lack key capabilities, such as in aviation and intelligence. Nato and Coalition Partner uplifts are underway and will continue through 2018 and our own uplift is underway. U. S. And nato will seek increased afghanistan control of Population Centers, a reduction of violence, increased capabilities of Afghan Special forces and an increase to the independence of an sdf ofations. Simultaneously, were realigning u. S. Military and civilian assistance to coincide with our overall objectives and our strategy. Major realignment initiatives inc