S. Hrg. 109-885 IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, AND THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM Y 4.AR 5/3:S.HRG.109-885 Iraq, Afghanistan, and The Glob BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SER\^CES UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION AUGUST 3; NOVEMBER 15, 2006 Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services $U(*EFWNTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS otponnmy JUN Z 1 2007 BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS DEPT. U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 35-223PDF WASHINGTON : 2007 ForsalebytheSuperintendentofDocuments,U.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice Internet:bookstore.gpo.gov Phone:tollfree(866)512-1800;DCarea(202)512-1800 Fax;(202)512-2250 Mail;StopSSOP,Washington,DC20402-0001 S. Hrg. 109-885 IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, AND THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM r Y 4.AR 5/3:S.HRG.109-885 Iraq, Afghanistan, and The Glob BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION AUGUST 3; NOVEMBER 15, 2006 Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services SUCEWNTeNDENt OF DOCUMENTS oePOSlTOi^Y mi juN 2 1 L BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS DEPT. U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON 2007 : ForsalebytheSuperintendentofDocuments,U.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice Internet:bookstore.gpo.gov Phone:tollfree(866)512-1800;DCarea(202)512-1800 Fax:(202)512-2250 Mail:StopSSOP,Washington,DC20402-0001 COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES JOHN WARNER, Virginia, Chairman JOHN McCAIN, Arizona CARL LEVIN, Michigan JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts PAT ROBERTS, Kansas ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama JOSEPH L LIEBERMAN, Connecticut SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine JACK REED, Rhode Island JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii JAMES M. TALENT, Missouri BILL NELSON, Florida SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina MARK DAYTON, Minnesota ELIZABETH DOLE, North Carolina EVAN BAYH, Indiana JOHN CORNYN, Texas HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York JOHN THUNE, South Dakota Charles S. Abell, StaffDirector Richard D. DeBobes, Democratic StaffDirector (II) CONTENTS CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Global War on Terrorism AUGUST 3, 2006 Page Rumsfeld, Hon. Donald, United States Secretary of Defense; Accompanied by Gen. Peter Pace, USMC, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; and GEN John Abizaid, USA, Commander, U.S. Central Command 6 To Receive Testimony on the Current Situation and U.S. Military Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan november 15, 2006 Abizaid, GENJohn P., USA, Commander, U.S. Central Command 98 Satterfield, Hon. David M., Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State and Coordinatorfor Iraq, Department ofState 102 To Continue to Receive Testimony on the Current Situation and U.S. Military Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan november 15, 2006 Hayden, Gen. Michael V., USAF, Director, Central Intelligence Agency 161 Maples, LTG Michael D., USA, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency 169 (III) IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, AND THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2006 U.S. Senate, Committee on Armed Services, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:31 a.m. in room SH- 216, Hart Senate Office Building, Senator John Warner (chairman) presiding. Committee members present: Senators Warner, McCain, Inhofe, Sessions, CoUins, Talent, ChambHss, Graham, Cornyn, Thune, Levin, Kennedy, Byrd, Reed, Bill Nelson, E. Benjamin Nelson, Day- ton, Bayh, and Clinton. Committee staff members present: Charles S. Abell, staff direc- tor; and Leah C. Brewer, nominations and hearings clerk. Majority staff members present: William M. Caniano, profes- sional staff member; Gregory T. Kiley, professional staff member; Sandra E. Luff, professional staff member; Derek J. Maurer, pro- fessional staffmember; David M. Morriss, counsel; Lynn F. Rusten, professional staff member; and Kristine L. Svinicki, professional staffmember. Minority staffmembers present: Richard D. DeBobes, Democratic staff director; Daniel J. Cox, Jr., professional staff member; Creighton Greene, professional staff member; Michael J. Kuiken, professional staff member; Michael J. McCord, professional staff member; William G.P. Monahan, minority counsel; and Michael J. Noblet, staffassistant. Staff assistants present: Jessica L. Kingston, Benjamin L. Rubin, and Pendred K. Wilson. Committee members' assistants present: Christopher J. Paul and Richard H. Fontaine, Jr., assistants to Senator McCain; John A. Bonsell and Jeremy Shull, assistants to Senator Inhofe; Arch Gallo- way II, assistant to Senator Sessions; Mackenzie M. Eaglen, assist- ant to Senator Collins; Matthew R. Rimkunas, assistant to Senator Graham; Greg Riels, assistant to Senator Dole; Russell J. Thomasson, assistant to Senator Cornyn; Stuart C. Mallory, assist- ant to Senator Thune; Sharon L. Waxman, assistant to Senator Kennedy; Christine Evans and Erik Raven, assistants to Senator B3n'd; Frederick M. Downey, assistant to Senator Lieberman; Wil- liam K. Sutey, assistant to Senator Bill Nelson; Eric Pierce, assist- ant to Senator Ben Nelson; Luke Ballman, assistant to Senator Dayton; Robert J. Ehrich, assistant to Senator Bayh; and Andrew Shapiro, assistant to Senator Clinton. (1) — OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JOHN WARNER, CHAIRMAN Chairman WARNER. Good morning, everyone. The committee meets this morning to receive testimony from the distinguished Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld; General Peter Pace, Chair- man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and General John Abizaid, Com- mander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), on progress in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war on terrorism, and such other aspects as relative to your area of operations. The committee will also look in their insights on the ongoing crisis involving Israel, Hezbollah, Lebanon, and to some extent, Palestine. Secretary Rumsfeld, the committee appreciates the changes you have made in your schedule that you have outlined to me very carefully and we welcome you this morning. Last week, in an historic visit the prime minister of Iraq met with President Bush, addressed a joint session of Congress, and spoke with military personnel at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. I was privi- leged to be present at all of those events and I think it was an ex- tremely important chapter in the ongoing developments in Iraq that he took that time to come over here. He demonstrated the re- solve ofthe Iraqi people to build a free and stable country. During the meeting with military personnel and their families and I witnessed this in a very passionate and sincere way, he con- veyed to those military people present at Fort Belvoir and for broadcast to military people all over the United States and the world the gratefulness in the hearts of the Iraqi people for their sacrifices of life and limb and that of their families in order to en- able the people of Iraq to gain a measure of democracy, elect their government, and share in the freedom that we all have in this country. In meetings with Prime Minister Maliki, President Bush re- affirmed America's commitment to support Iraq's constitutional de- mocracy and to help Prime Minister Maliki's government succeed. On July 25, President Bush said: "The Iraqi people want to suc- ceed. They want to end this violence." The President also said that "America will not abandon the Iraqi people." I am, however, gravely concerned by the recent spike in violence and sectarian attacks, and the instability in Baghdad and recent decisions to extend the deployment of 3,500 American troops in Iraq and to relocate additional American forces to reinforce Bagh- dad. Those were important decisions made by you, Mr. Secretary, General Abizaid, and you. Chairman Pace. I hope that you will share with us this morning the reasons for doing so. I do not ques- tion the seriousness of this situation, the need to do it, but we should have a very clear explanation, because we had, I regret to say, expectations, largely generated by certain reports of General Casey, about the hope to draw down our forces in the near future. That is a question I hope that we address this morning, because I do not like to see the hopes of the men and women of the Armed Forces raised and then have to be changed and the impact on their families and indeed the confusion that results here at home when those decisions have to be made. But we recognize the President has said, as the Secretary has said, that ground conditions vary and they must be the deter- mining factor. Additionally, I have expressed concerns about the potential im- pact of events in Lebanon and Israel and their cascading effect on the wider Middle East region, and specifically on the United States an—d coalition forces serving in Iraq a—nd Afghanistan. My concern is and I have expressed this publicly that Israel was wrongfully attacked by Hezbollah. No one disputes that whatsoever. They have an unequivocal right to defend themselves. No one disputes that. But as our Nation engages in this situation, and historically we have been an honest broker in that region, as our Nation en- gages in that conflict to try and resolve it, we must do so in a way to be mindful of the implications on our commitments in the Iraq theater. The messages we send by virtue of our support to try and bring about a cessation of this conflict are transmitted throughout the Muslim world straight up into Iraq. It is my fervent hope that our men and women serving in uniform and others in Iraq will not be put at greater personal risk as a consequence of the rhetoric that flows, the decisions that are made, in trying to resolve that conflict. I will have further to say about that in the question period. In the nearly 5 years since U.S. forces initiated operations to lib- erate Afghanistan from the brutal rule of the Taliban and to elimi- nate al Qaeda training bases and sanctuaries, there has been re- markable progress in Afghanistan on the political, economic, and security fronts. The Afghan people have spoken in favor offreedom and democracy and I am pleased that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is taking an increasing and very important role in Afghanistan, and you are to be commended, Mr. Secretary, for initiating that move together with General Jones, who has been a strong advocate oftrying to achieve that goal. However, recent reports from Afghanistan show that the violence is on the rise. We will learn from you, I hope, your concern as to that area of responsibility (AOR), General, and what the future holds in the face ofa resurgence ofthe Taliban forces. While some in the West take freedom and liberty for granted, Americans everywhere should remain so proud of the contributions of our service men and women deployed in harm's way. They are bringing the best hope for freedom and democracy to Iraq and Af- ghanistan after decades of cruel oppression and their sacrifices have enabled us here at home to fully enjoy the freedoms that we have. As the current conflict in Lebanon and Israel proceeds, there is obvious concern that the crisis could spark a wider war. The fire- brand Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said, "We, the unified Iraqi peo- ple, will stand with the Lebanese people to end the ominous trio of the United States, Israel, and Britain, which is terrorizing Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and other occupied nations." He also said that he was ready to go to Lebanon to defend it. Now, we all recognize that he is just a hothead and a firebrand, but he is a troublemaker and I hope. General Abizaid, you can give us some assessment of the courage and the will ofthe Iraqi people, under the leadership of the prime minister, to begin a step that 4 must be achieved, and that is the disbanding of these private miH- tias, notably Sadr's. Back to Osama bin Laden. His deputy issued a worldwide call for Muslims to rise up against Israel and join the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza, raising again the specter of an Islamic caliphate that I clearly remember General Abizaid discussed in testimony before the committee last year. We hope you will bring us up-to-date on the Osama bin Laden situation and the ongoing activities of our forces together with others trying to bring about this man being brought tojustice or otherwise taken care of. In light of all these developments, the mission in Iraq and Af- ghanistan is even more critical and your time with us today is crit- ical. General Pace and General Abizaid, I want to express our grati- tude to both ofyou and the countless men and women that you rep- resent, for your continued service and historic efforts of our Na- tion's military to bring freedom and liberty to Iraq, Afghanistan, and to preserve it here at home. Secretary Rumsfeld, once again the committee welcomes you. Now, just before the committee meeting started General Abizaid of- fered to meet with Senator Levin and myself, for information ofthe members of the committee, and he outlined the progress being made with the various reports examining the activities ofthe chain of command relative to certain incidents in Iraq. It is our under- standing. General Abizaid, that those reports will soon be given to you. There is a convergence of the criminal investigation together with the chain of command investigation under General Chiarelli. It is now in the overall commander of the Marine Forces, General Zilmer, and then it comes to you, and it is your hope and expecta- tion that, working with the Secretary, those reports can be made available to this committee early on in September. Senator Levin. STATEMENT OF SENATOR CARL LEVIN Senator Levin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for calling this very important hearing, and thank you to all of our witnesses for being here this morning. The American service men and women in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other trouble spots around the world are performing their duties magnificently. We salute them and their families. We thank them for their unselfish service and devotion to our Nation. Despite their heroic efforts, the security situation in Iraq con- tinues to worsen. Sectarian violence is not only on the rise, it has eclipsed the Sunni insurgency and the terrorism of al Qaeda in Iraq in terms of the toll it has taken and the threats to Iraq's chances ofstability. Our military leadership has identified Baghdad as the key, what they call the center of gravity, to success or failure in Iraq. The highly vaunted recent plan to stabilize Baghdad has not worked, and we are going back to the drawing board and sending more U.S. troops to the Iraqi capital. We are having difficulty finding suffi- cient troops for that purpose. The fact that the Army's Stryker bri- gade that is being sent to Baghdad is being extended past its 12- month rotation date by another 3 to 4 months speaks volumes