36 . Up that is over a one third increase in one year. Second, the taliban continues to finance terrorist activity through drug trade. Estimates suggest that the taliban receives 150 million a year in narcoticsrelated activities. A significant portion of its estimated budget. A 2012 afghane, king drug kingpin was sentenced to life in prison in United States on Drug Trafficking and narco terrorism charges. According to the department of justice, he used some of his drug proceeds to provide cash and arms to the taliban government. To tell then commanders were responsible for the insurgency activity in eastern afghanistan. The Senate Caucus on International Mark onyx control released a report on this country and argued that the talibans financial involvement poses a threat to our National Security. Today thanless true it was three and a half years ago. Is 1. 6d not least, there million opium addicts in that country. That is over five percent of the population. In advance of the hearing, we have provided our witnesses with draft recommendations on how we can sustain and improve our counter narcotics efforts in this country and in the coming years. I would like to highlight just a few of them. The purpose for doing this is that we would like to hear what you think will work and will not work. First, as our funding declines, we need to internationalize our narcotics efforts in afghanistan. Crimefice of drugs and estimates that russia may be the Largest Consumer of heroine in the world with 1. 7 ops users. The United States and russia should Work Together much more closely. We should encourage other countries to contribute to these efforts. Ran has a major impact it is my understanding that Border Patrol agents from iran have been killed in trying to enforce the iranian border. There may be many areas of disagreement that we have with iran. This is one area where we should agree and counter narcotics is that area. Second, i have been very supportive of the programs that are an integrated approach in andinating the cultivation alternative development of Public Information campaigns and drug demands reduction. Meetinge privilege of with the president. Me must also look at nonfar income. So, our suggestion is that a greater focus be placed on manufacturing and microlending. Third, the dea has provided key support to afghanled units that target drug kingpins and the drug trade. Funding in afghanistan should continue to support these units. I very much welcome the witnesses here today. Mr. Brownfield, you have been here before and it is good to see you. At the appropriate time, i will ther the sing which distinguished gentleman to make his remarks and then be the first one to ask questions. We can Work Together on these and i intend to do that. Thank you very much. We can Work Together on that. On holding this hearing that follows up on two previous hearings on afghan counternarcotics programs. This discussion is especially timely because of the drawdown of our troops this year and it has a Significant Impact on these programs. The hearing gives us an opportunity to hear from the administration about the future of these programs Going Forward and our efforts in these areas are dependent on the security that our military provides. Therefore, i have long been concerned that if our troops are withdrawn completely from afghanistan and if it is too abrupt and without central planning, United States could lose the progress that it has made against the drug trade. Feinstein and i theased a report regarding counternarcotics strategy in afghanistan and, in that report we recommended that the key agencies involved in counter narcotics devise a copperhead to strategy to continue operational effectiveness. Time of our hearing, the Obama Administration was reducing the number of troops there and i raised concerns then that we could lose our affective effectiveness in reducing our presence. We are arty seeing that. I will skip over the statistics that i have because the chairman has already refer to those. Toitionally, the failure finalize a bilateral Security Agreement with the afghans is landing our ability to future counternarcotics efforts. As we saw in iraq, the country descends into chaos. We should not forget why we are in afghanistan in the first place. We are dealing with a mix of corruption, organized crime, to leadity, that helped to the rise of the taliban. The taliban provided a safe haven for al qaeda during the september 11 attacks. The counter narcotics efforts in theynistan in short that cannot use the country as a base to threaten our country. We reduce the number of troops in afghanistan and we need to focus on our efforts to build. He capabilities we also need to ensure that Law Enforcement agencies will still be allowed to work alongside afghan personnel to conduct operations and investigations. We should also prioritize our efforts and combat the Money Laundering and narcotics that are exported from afghanistan. In 2012, the estimated value of almost 2s was billion. It is quite obvious that these ands support the insurgency criminal terrorist activities. Critical that plans are in place to deal with how our counter narcotics efforts continue to deal, absent security provided by the United States military. In a report, i strongly encouraged this administration comprehensive and workable strategies to do so. I look forward to this hearing from our Witnesses Today that regards the counternikon explants. Narcotics plans. We will place an emphasis on those concerns as we reduce our book print. Also interested in what is working and what is not working in our efforts. Thank you very much. I would like to introduce the witnesses and tell you how grateful we are that you are here. It is really important and we have done to prior reports. We will stick with the subject. I am very worried about where this thing goes and what happens. So, to me introduce our witnesses. On my left is ambassador william brownfield. I welcome him back to our caucus and he has been here before. Ambassador brownfield is the assistant secretary of state for International Mark onyx and Law Enforcement affairs. He has previously served as the United States ambassador to colombia. To welcomeld like james. He is the chief of operations. As the chief, he was the principal advisor. Dheart. E lynn she was appointed as the chief of operations in august and has served with the dea for 25 years. Thank you so much. Priests to have pleased to have a written logan. Aaron logan. As the principal director, she is responsible for the oversight of the defense department. The management of Department Policy for terrorist threats and finance. Previously worked for joe biden on the Foreign Relations committee. Last and not least, i want to welcome john. He is the special ig for afghan reconstruction. He conducted oversight on the effectiveness of u. S. Assistance 20afghanistan and has over years of experience serving on staff in the senate and the house. He has worked as a state and federal prosecutor for investigations and prosecutions against organized crime groups. , wehis distinguished lady are happy to have you here. Will you proceed with your questions. Give testimony. I skipped a whole part of this. You think that is freudian . No, no. You are on. Thank you. I will be honored to launch. Thank you for the opportunity to appear today to discuss counters efforts in afghanistan. Permission granted. Afghanistan is the source of 80 of the illegal opiates. Strategy fordrug the future, there are cure clear facts that we do not know. We do not know the security structure we will face after 2014 or the contours of the bilateral relationship. Or, the resources that will be available to us. We have learned from lessons in the past 40 years of drug programs that are applicable to the entire world. Drug strategies take time and it takes years to get into these crises and get out of them. Drug strategies must be comprehensive and you cannot solve a crisis addressing just one single element. Drug strategies must be adaptable and capable of responding to inevitable changes by the trafficking adversaries. With an eye on new realities in recentlyan, the bureau reviewed from grams that operates under the agency in afghanistan that was approved in december of 2012. We concluded that our drug program should be driven by five guiding principles. First, focus efforts on sustainable afghan capabilities. Is more building important than of equipment and must be sustainable over the long term. Second, emphasized afghan priorities and strategies in our planning. If there is no buyin, the strategy will not succeed. Third, deliver on previous commitments. Thee lose the thrust of afghan people, who operation will weather. We th cooperation will ither. Fifth and finally, given the changing security and resource reality after 2014, we must adjust our monitoring and evaluation strategies to ensure taxpayer funds are protected and programs are as effective as they possibly can be. Senators, you will find a programs inout afghanistan. You will read programs that are designed to address crop control and training and Capacity Building. You will read of some of our efforts to engage in Important International partners in the u. N. And u. K. Read of our proposed approach to monitoring and used then where we best available sources to evaluate sources in the field in the light of security and resources. I hope that you will find the outline of the comprehensive drug strategy. I read the media like everyone hasidism inetect reporting that i do not share any more that i share the pessimism of those who reported that columbia was a failure. I do not promise you a successful resolution of the counter narcotics challenge this year or next year. That, with your support, a sustainable and adaptable Counter Narcotics Program that builds capacities for the Afghan Government to address drug challenges in the. Ost 2014 era i thank you and i look for to your questions. Thank you. Thank you. And very honored to be here i offer my written statement for the record. I asked that it be submitted. Man inguished distinguished members of the panel, on behalf of the dea, i appreciate your opportunity to report on the counter narcotics strategy in afghanistan. The core mission is to disrupt and dismantle one of the most Drug Trafficking administrations in the United States. The program afghanistan is designed to deny narcotics related funding and conducting bilateral investigations. We promote the rule of law and reduce corruption while diminishing threats from afghanistan. Tradeternational drug generates 322 billion a year and makes drugs the most lucrative illicit activity. U. N. , armso the are smallg, aliens by comparison. It enables corruption and roads government legitimacy. Stability,s security, and the rule of law in afghanistan and around the region. Millionsan receives from narcoticsrelated activities. Involved inis taxing opium, operating processing lines, moving narcotics through taliban checkpoints and taliban controlled regions. They provide drug labs and bazaars to collect donations. As the poppy that cultivation expands, it can be that the talibans will rise. Supportive in a drug control strategy. This strategy reaffirms the commitment to afghanistan and breaking the insurgency to reinforce. The deas efforts will rain focused on the programs. They are effective. We understand the challenges. The dea will transition our operational profile to correspond with traditional dea operations. We will conduct bilateral investigations that will target trafficking organizations and advise nation Law Enforcement units to coordinate intelligence and support domestic dea investigations. To meet this commitment, the dea must maintain a sufficient staffing level in afghanistan. We continue to develop our capacities. We will address the illicit drug trade independently by multinationalplex narcotics investigations with increasing degrees of responsibility and ownership, which they have started doing. Reinforce this. The threat from the drug trade is far from over and it is theical that we sustain security gains over the last decade. The dea is committed to standing with our colleagues and counterparts to build a Sustainable Program in afghanistan that protects National Security interests. I thank you for your time and i look forward to answering your questions. Thank you very much. Cochair grassley , on behalf of the department of defense, i am particularly pleased to be here. I spent so much of my career here and, quite frankly to have the opportunity with my distinguished colleagues that i work so closely with on a daily basis. I have a written statement to be included in the record and i would like to take a few minutes to highlight some of the themes. These are the recommendations that you were kind enough to share last week. As people well know, since 2001, the United States made an extraordinary investment in blood and treasure to fight in afghanistan. Hundreds of thousands of afghanistans have lost their lives during Operation Enduring freedom. Billionhas invested 2 in training and programs. Spent United States has billions on this war. We say that 2 billion has been well spent and we have a seed that has sprouted. Happen ifh will only we protect what as we look to the future, it is impossible to envision success without capability to stop the violence and corruption. We cannot ignore the growing threat to ourselves and allies. Our canadian partners estimate that 90 of the heroin comes from afghanistan. They believe they are seeing more on their streets. We must all absorb information like this when combined with the governor delivering a speech problem. N vermonts we must be vigilant about the possibility of afghan produced heroine becoming available across the u. S. Because of global trade lowering lowering the price. We are committed to disrupting the drugs as far away from our shores as possible. Our strategy in afghanistan can be summarized by saying we are phones in three areas. Continue Capacity Building and continue leveraging of international capabilities. Shown that they are willing and able to do the ablend more and more are to plan and execute and follow through on their own. Just a couple of weeks ago, the dod supported and the dea men toward the Investigative Unit unitred the investigative that led to not only the rest of criminals but the seizure of harold when heroin. And rocket grenades. That is an incredible Success Story. A unit that dea mentored. Theinuing to support building of capability. I cannot overstate how vital we believe this is. For any security efforts into running effective operation, Afghan Forces must have adequate mobility to ensure the safety in remote areas where insurgents operate. My office has been focused on special to completely plan and execute without international assistance. To have the at craft necessary for vital operations to continue said, ournd that experiences have shown it could take a decade or more to become sustaining. In a nation like afghanistan where pressures will be high, it could take longer. We do believe with support, we are very confident that we can make progress. I would be amiss if i did not point out that it is part of a the u. S. Supported Justice System has shown it can ask the additional sleep process highlevel ask the additional sleep process highlevel cases. Usly process high level cases. That is a huge Success Story for them in terms of culture and chances of revenue. The Police Continue to make progress for the partner. We have seen solid returns. The coronation center. As our strategy highlighted, we believe as we draw down, we need to explore ways that we have been able to develop with the partners. Starting small, we believe we support a regional hub. Toronto had seven seizures in 2013. The percentage removed from the high seas is equal to the amount of funding necessary for a post for a platoon of insurgents. It will allow us to retain valuable relationships to ability and expand our and it would require us to work across will believe that is essential. Finally, i would give you a few thoughts on your recommendation. Of it hasea merit. The russians have not been willing to do more than describes a problem of drugs and who must be realistic and our expectations and continue to work with it down. And it isore efforts sometimes complicated by the perception. We also experienced some difficulties implementing Capacity Building programs is on the internal structure, human and thessues, susceptibility of many to the corruption stop corruption. I would caution the caucus ive not experienced the wilderness to date. Recommendation, signs of success. As you point out, we need to make sure we tailored those lessons to lead to different needs and regions. We cannot rely on onesizefits all. Supported the dea, we wholeheartedly agree. Recommendation, again, that is something we would support and recognize the difficulty of doing that without a sense of how our afghan partners will be. Processing labs. This a good approach. As you can imagine, on the seventh recommendation, we do not agree. We have a planet to purchase we doonal at craft, not have a plan