Petraeus, Eikenberry Testify Before Senate Foreign Relations Committee

By Ravi Bhatia - Talk Radio News Service

A day after U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Eikenberry joined General David H. Petraeus and Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew to discuss the civilian efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The three testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Committee, chaired by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).

Aside from reiterating U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s acknowledgment that U.S. efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and Pakistan would be difficult “but possible,” the three witnesses asserted that the United States would not abandon civilian efforts to stabilize the region, if and when U.S. troops remove the threat of al-Qaeda and the various Taliban networks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“Many Pakistanis believe that America will once again abandon the region,” Kerry said in his opening statements. “Let me be clear: It would be a mistake for anyone in Pakistan or elsewhere to believe that the President’s words about drawing down troops from Afghanistan mean an end to our involvement in the region.”

President Barack Obama committed 30,000 additional troops to the region, in response to McChrystal’s request for 40,000. Unlike the McChrystal hearings, war protestors were not present in the Dirksen building hallways during Eikenberry, Patraeus and Lew’s testimonies.

None of the three witnesses could confirm Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai’s estimation that the country would not be able to pay for its own security until 2024. Nor could they provide an estimate to the cost of training and deporting civilian troops to the region for another 15 years. However, Eikenberry said there will be almost 1,000 civilians from “numerous government departments and agencies on the ground in Afghanistan” by early 2010, tripling the total number of civilians from early 2009.

“The integration of civilian and military effort has greatly improved over the last year, a process that will deepen as additional troops arrive and our civilian effort expands,” he said.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), a member of the committee, suggested that the witnesses’ testimonies made him believe that after $13 billion dollars given to Afghanistan for development and infrastructure efforts, “we are basically starting from scratch as it relates to development efforts.”

“We hope that Karzai will do everything right,” he said. “But, you know, we may prod and poke but at the end of the day, this depends on an Afghan government that can ultimately sustain itself.

“At some point we need to get the price tag here,” Menendez continued.

Lew disagreed with Menendez’s notion.

“Before the development assistance that you're describing, there was virtually no access to health care in Afghanistan,” Lew said. “[Now] there’s very substantial access to health care, in the 80-percent range. There were virtually no girls in schools, there are a lot of girls enrolled in schools - more every day, every week, every month. It’s fair to say we have an awful lot of work ahead of us. [But] I don’t think it’s quite the same as starting from scratch.”

Pentagon: If Congress doesn't act, soldiers will go unpaid

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell briefed the press, starting with a statement about the Global War on Terror budget supplemental request, which is slated to go before the House this week. He said that currently the military is borrowing form Army payroll accounts in order to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and that if the Congress does not act the the Defense Department will not be able to pay soldier, including those in Iraq and Afghanistan after June 15, 2008. He said the only options available if Congress does not pass $108 billion in war supplementals would be for the Defense Department to petition Congress to allow certain "re-programming" of other funds so that soldiers don't' go without pay.


The subject of Myanmar came up and Morrell said that there are several U.S. military assets in the region, which if requested could aid in disaster relief. These assets include 23 helicopters and a carrier with 1800 Marines aboard. Morrell said that these forces are only awaiting the request for help from the Burmese government.

The subject of the revised GI bill came up. Morrell wouldn't comment on any of the draft legislation in the Senate, but said that the Defense Department's priorities are to make education benefits transferable to military spouses and children and to have those education benefits become available after 6 years of service, which Morrell said would encourage a higher rate of retention in the force.

Morrell said that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has said that the command structure in Afghanistan is something that is worth taking a look at, but only in consultation with the NATO allies. He also said that while gen. McNeil has requested 3 additional brigades, the general doesn't expect that request to be fulfilled anytime soon. There is an expectation based on assurances made by President bush at the NATO summit in Bucharest, Hungary that there will be a plussing up of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. But Morrell said that the military will have to evaluate that plussing up of forces after the period of evaluation in Iraq after the last surge force brigade combat team is withdrawn. He also said that the Department must strive to meet the renewed limit of 12-month tours and increased time at home for soldiers first. He said that the Secretary of Defense doesn't think more troops in Afghanistan is unnecessary but that the draw down in Iraq must be completed before those additional brigades to Afghanistan will be considered. He also reiterated that the tour of the 3,400 Marines now serving in the Regional Command South will end in a finite way in December and the Department does not expect that tour to be extended beyond the standard 7 months for Marines.

Morell said that he has heard that there will be confirmation hearings on the Hill confirming Gen. David Petraeus as the combatant commander of Central Command later in the month of May. The Senate Armed Services Committee could not confirm that a date has been set for these hearings.

Petraeus and Crocker face Congress for a second day

The House Armed Services and House Foreign Affairs committees hosted Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the Multinational Force Iraq commander and ambassador in Iraq respectively.

The testimony and questions did not differ significantly from their testimony the two men gave in the Senate. In fact, both Petraeus and Crocker read their opening statements verbatim at all four hearings where they were called to testify. There was less protest of the testimony in the House committees than had been in the Senate, only one protester was escorted out of the Armed Service hearing. And there were no visible protesters at the Foreign Relations committee.

In the Armed Services Committee, responding to questions from Mike McIntyre (D-NC), Crocker spoke of an ongoing review process for looking at the 18 agreed-upon legislative benchmarks and agreed to inform the committee of the results of the review when completed next week. So far only three of the benchmark legislation has been approved by the Iraqi parliament and only one of those has been implemented. Crocker also emphasized that Iraq is a sovereign nation and that Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki is able to make his own decisions, as made clear by recent action in Basra, and that if Maliki were to exclude Muqutada al Sadr from the political progress that is his prerogative.



Also in the Armed Services Committee, Rep.Randy Forbes (R-VA) questions the worth of the war to the average housewife who worries about groceries and the high cost of gas. Petraeus responded that "what happens in Iraq has ripple effects that will ripple into the United States." He noted that if there is an interruption to oil flows, there will bean even higher price at the gas tank. He said that the war is worth it because it inhibits al-Qaida's ability to establish a base in Iraq and conducts further attacks on the United States.

In the Foreign Relation Dan Burton(R-IN)asked whether a "precipitous pull out" from Iraq were to happen a vacuum were to be created only al-Qaida could fill it. Crocker answered that given conditions at this time, if the U.S. were to withdraw all soldiers in six months, there would be a downward spiral and al-Qaida would benefit, possibly establishing a base in the Middle East.

In the only heated exchange, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) asked about the strategic forces agreement and whether it would tie the hands of the next president if that president were to advocate a radical policy change and attempt to withdraw troops immediately. He allowed Crocker one word and that was, "No." Questioning Petraeus Sherman asked whether he would prepare upon the election of a new president to fulfill their policy. Petraeus said that he can only serve one boss and one policy at a time, but that the military would have a plan for a more expedient withdrawal. Petraeus said that he was uncomfortable with the line of questioning, reasserting his belief in civilian control of the military.

Pelosi and House chairs decry Iraq's unpaid reconstruction tab

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was joined by House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO), House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA), and Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) in a press conference to talk about the extended cost of the war in Iraq in anticipation of testimony by the U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker next week. The members focused on the failure of the Iraqi government to finance reconstruction and hit legislative benchmarks in addition to the strains on the U.S. military and domestic spending.



Pelosi began by quoting Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said earlier in the week that Afghanistan is an "economy of force campaign" and that there are unmet needs in Afghanistan because of the high force levels in Iraq. Mullen has continually referenced the "stress on the force" caused by long deployment, short dwell times, and fronts in Afghanistan and Iraq. All the members said that the administrations' priorities are mixed up and that domestic issues are suffering as a result of the Iraq war.

Skelton praised the troops and military leadership but said regarding the readiness of the troops, "You're wearing 'em out. The strain is heavy!" He said that extended tours and decreased re-enlistment numbers are wearing the force thin and that worries over the readiness of the force for other unforeseen conflict keep him up at night.

Pelosi said that the only thing she does not want to hear come through Petraeus testimony is "a glorification of what has just happened in Basra." She said that she doesn't want to hear that the Maliki government was showing initiative or winning when they didn't consult wit the U.S. forces and ended up having to accept peace terms from Muqtada al Sadr, whom she described as being "dictated to" by Iran.

Emanuel in closing said, "Remember this is the war that was supposed to pay for itself with Iraqi oil revenue."
Pelosi chimed in, "It was supposed to cost $50 billion dollars," and then referring to the Iraqi government, "And they haven't paid for anything."