bipartisan of capitol hill represented. thank you very much for that. >> as this hearing comes to a close, we'll go live to capitol hill for coverage of afghanistan war commanding general john allen. he is testifying before the house armed services committee on issues in afghanistan this morning. this hearing comes as u.s. forcforc forces face a long list of concerns in the country, includi including last week's killing of 16 afghan citizens. president karzai has called for u.s. troops to withdraw to american bases, just before the start of the traditional fighting season. this is live coverage on capitol hill. >> good morning, ladies and gentlemen. the house armed services committee meets today to receive testimony from the acting undersecretary of defense for policy, dr. james miller, and the commander of the international security and

assistance force in afghanistan, general john allen. gentlemen, thank you for your distinguished service to our nation, especially during this critical moment in afghanistan. and thank you for joining us here today. the last year has been a c consequential time for u.s. in afghanistan. with the surge forces in place the united states and nato forces have conducted major operations to push back the taliban in the south of afghanistan, launched operations from afghanistan to kill osama bin laden and further disrupt al qaeda, trained thousands of afghan security forces so that they can secure their territory from terrorists and insurgent groups, and return countless numbers of civilians to school and to work. however, in the last few weeks, the impressive gains that the united states and nato were

making in afghanistan have been called into question by some, due to the actions of a rogue few. some afghan soldiers have taken up arms against isaf soldiers which could diminish trust among soldier that are supposed to be partnered. partnering is valuable and necessary. there are steps that can be taken to minimize such incidents, and that these criminal actions are relatively isolated. moreover, the horrific incident of u.s. army staff sergeant who allegedly took up arms against afghan civilians also is both isolated and a criminal act that should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. these exceptional incidents are not reflective of the hundreds of thousands of u.s. soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, who have honorably served in afghanistan, nor are they reflect inof the many thousands of afghan soldiers who are being

train and are helping to secure afghanistan today. additionally, i remain very concerned about the president's decision last summer to speed up withdrawal of the surge troops from afghanistan, as well as his original announcement in his speech at west point for a2014 u.s. combat forces. it has made it increasingly difficult to build up trust and confidence with the afghan institutions that will ensure that the security and political gains by u.s. and nato efforts are sustained into the future. moreover, with our eyes at the exits i'm uncertain whether we will be able to achieve the key tenets of the president's strategy due to the constraints the president himself has put in place. for example, it's been reported in the media that the u.s. and afghan governments are attempting to achieve a negotiated solution with the taliban, and yet the taliban continue to operate with

impunity out of pakistan because they already know when we will be leaving, and pakistan has been unwilling or unable to address safe havens. furthermore, due to the president's decision to begin withdrawing surge forces early we increased the risk to our forces to effectively address the second part of the afghanistan campaign plan, shifting the main effort to eastern afghanistan and applying military pressure on the haqqani network, who are responsible for the most dramatic and lethal attacks in afghanistan. what's more, in the absence of sustained public opinion to support the mission in afghanistan from the white house on down, many have begun to question what we're fighting for. with friend and foe alike, knowing that the u.s. is heading for the exits, our silence is likely viewed as a preamble to retreat and in warfare when the mission becomes redeployment rather than mission success the outcome can quickly become

disorderly. general allen and i have total confidence in you and your command. the challenge in afghanistan continues to be great but i'm certain that we can achieve the united states' core, strategic objectives by resolving to provide you with a time and resources you need to be successful. i think this hearing today is extremely timely, with the american people needing to hear from you and what's really going on over there on the ground. now i look forward to your testimony and the insights into the challenges and the way forward in afghanistan. ranking member smith? >> thank you mr. chairman. thank you, general allen, dr. miller, appreciate your leadership and support. i agree with the chairman's opening remarks about the progress that has been made in afghanistan since the surge was announced there has been considerable progress made throughout the country and i am aware that progress was made because of the bravery,

leadership and considerable efforts of our troops and isat partners. we have pushed the taliban back particularly in the south. those of us who traveled there can tangibly see the improvements, villages we're able to walk through that were major combat zones a few months before, is evidence of the hard work and progress being made. perhaps as important as the security gains, you are seeing on the district and the provinciale level significant improvement in governance. one of the things i was impressed with last time i was there, i saw a great deal more u.s. aid, state department, people on the judiciary side. the base exes building blocks of governoran governor erns put in place. we've made enormous progress towards giving the afghan government and people the chance to have a stable and lasting government. now, progress should not be -- should not underestimate the challenge that remains. afghanistan is a very difficult

country. it's very poor. its economy is very difficult. they have a history of well over 30 years of civil war and the insurgent groups are still present. we can't imagine we're ever going to leave a perfectly stable perfect democracy in afghanistan, but the progress has been made, and i think the thing that we can all feel good about we have a much, much better chance that when we leave there will be a stable government that will be able to stand and stop the taliban from returning to power. we must always remember that that was the goal that the president clearly stated. defeat, dismantle al qaeda and make sure they and their taliban allies can not come back. we are much further along the road to achieving that goal now than we were two years ago, due in large part to the efforts of our troops and we must thank them for that. we are not going to stay there forever. i don't think anybody would say that we should. if we're not going to stay there forever we need a plan to leave and to leave responsibly and that's what was first put in

place by the president in 2009 and then solidifies at the lisbon conference in 2010 with nato. we have what i think is a realistic plan. we cannot say, well, we're never going to leave, we're going to stay because we're fearful that if people think we're going to leave therefore gives themselves advantage. it gives them an advantage if we leave in the minds of the afghan people we're never going to leave. the effect of that, one, undermines the confidence in the karzai government, the confidence of the provinciale governments because they do not like look governments that can stand on their own. they look like governments that will be forever dependent on foreign forces. it also give the taliban a strong propaganda argument that government is a prop for a foreign-occupying force and that, too, will fuel the insurgency. we have to balance that out. also we have to understand having well over 130,000 foreign troops in a country does cause destabilizing effects. imagine in your own community if ever day you had foreign troops

rolling down the streets as if they own the place. we need to get to the point to turning this over to the afghan people as soon as we responsibly can and the progress we made gives us the opportunity to do that. to say we're going to stay forever if something goes wrong undermines that very plan. it is my hope, general allen, dr. miller, you will lay out how we are making progress and as we go forward, how we are going to make that responsible transition that everybody in this room wants. we want our troops home. we want the afghan people back in charge of their own security, their own government. that's where we want to get. the path is not easy but one we must go down. i commend both of you for the progress that we've made. i look forward to hearing about how we can complete that mission and bring our troops home. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. dr. miller? >> chairman mckeon, ranking member smith, members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to testify today.

i'm very pleased and honored to be here with outstanding commander, general john allen. i ask that my full remarks be enters into the record and i would like to summarize them. >> without objection, so ordered. could you pull the mike a little bit closer, please? >> mr. chairman, the united states' objectives in afghanistan remain to deny safe halve tonight al qaeda and to deny the taliban the ability to overthrow the afghan government. this administration is committed to meeting these core objectives. while we have faced serious challenges, our strategy is succeeding. our counterterrorism efforts against al qaeda have been successful. the job is not finished, there is no doubt that we have severely degraded al qaeda's capacity. as a result of this surge launched in 2009, we have broken and reversed taliban momentum in afghanistan. in the afghan national security forces are increasingly capable, and increasingly in the lead.

mr. chairman, our forces are performing extremely well. as i saw firsthand in a trip to afghanistan less than two weeks ago. we are well into a process of transition to ansf leadership, as agreed to at 2010 nato lisbon summit. today almost 50% of afghans already live in areas that have begun the transition process to ansf lead. as interim milestone at some point in 2013, the ansf will be in the lead for providing security across afghanistan. at that time u.s. and coalition forces will be in a support role which will take a number of forms. this includes u.s. and coalition forces partners with afghan units, as already occurring in many places today and it will include the smaller footprint associated with u.s. and coalition forces in a train, advise, assist role. by the end of 2014, the ansf will be responsible for the

security of afghanistan. by that time u.s. and coalition forces will have moved to a much maller presence focused on counterterrorism and training, advising and assisting afghan forces. mr. chairman, there is no doubt that the afghanistan war has been a tough fight. in the last several weeks have been particularly difficult. the inappropriate handling of korans at bagram air because was an error that sent precisely the wrong signal. this unfortunate act stands in stark contrast to the many years during which u.s. forces have demonstrated deep respect for the religious practices of the afghan people. even more recently, the afghans and we have had to respond to the horrific killings of 16 afghan civilians in the district of kandahar. the department of defense conducting a full investigation of this sense also act. a suspect is in cuss did and at ft. levin worth, kansas.

justice will be done and anyone responsible will be held accountable. we have also been challenged in recent weeks by attack business afghan personnel against u.s. and coalition forces, so-called green on blue attacks. we will have to work through these incidents and these challenges as president obama and second panetta have discussed in the last week with president karzai. but it is critical that these tragic occurrences not blind us to the significant progress we have made. i'd like to give some examples. from 2010 to 2011 enemy initiated attacks in afghanistan were down 9%. this trend is continuing into 2012 for january and february this year, enemy initiated attacks are down a further 22% from 2011 levels for the same months. in october 2008 there were only 140,000 afghans in the ansf. today, there are approximately 330,000.

we expect to reach our goal of 35052,000 ansf ahead of the october 2012 target date. today almost 90% of coalition operations in afghanistan are carried out in partnership with the ansf and ansf is in the lead for more than 40% of operations. we are negotiating strategic partnership between the was afghanistan that will frame our enduring relationship. this strategic partnership will demonstrate that we learned the lessons from 1989, when the abrupt departure left our friends confused and enemies emboldened. partnership with president karzai and the afghan government we recently completed a crucial milestone. when general allen, co-signed a memorandum of understand standi standing. we are working with the afghans on a member ran of understanding on special operations which when completed, will further strengthen our partnership.

concluding a strategic partnership will send a clear signal that the united states remains and will remain committed to afghan security. such an assurance must continue beyond our planned transition of 2014. as obama -- as president obama said in his state of the union address, quote, we will build an enduring partnership with afghanistan so it is never again a source of attacks again america, end quote. the need for a long-term commitment extends to our coalition partners as well. as nato secretary-general rasmussen said in december, quote, our commitment does not end with transition, we will finish the job to help create a secure afghanistan for a shared security, end quote. achieving a durable peace in afghanistan will require some form of reconciliation among afghans. it is by no means certain the effort to bear fruit in the near term but it in is our national security interest to try. any negotiated outcome with

insurgents must meet our red lines for reconciliation, insurgents must, one renounce violence, two, break all advertise with al qaeda and, three, abide by the constitution after afghanistan. success in afghanistan will depend on the support of afghans -- afghanistan's names, like pakistan. pakistan has legitimate interest as should be understood and addressed. pakistan has responsibil ities, take further steps to ensure that military and extremist groups cannot continue to find safe haven in pakistani territory. pakistan has powerful incentives to do so. in 2011 alone 2000 attacks in pakistan resulted in about 2400 deaths, mostly from improvised explosive devices. mr. chairman and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify here today. we embarked on this fight a decade ago to ensure that the terrorist networks that struck

in new york, in washington, d.c., and in the skies over pennsylvania would never again be able to use afghanistan as their sanctuary. thanks to the great courage and skill of the u.s. armed forces and civilian personnel to our coalition partners, and to our afghan partners, our strategy is working. while success and warfare is never guaranteed we are on a path to meet our objectives to deny safe halve tonight al qaeda and deny the taliban to overthree the afghan government. i'd like to thank the committee for your continued support of our effort in afghanistan and your strong support of the great men and women of the u.s. armed forces. mr. chairman, thank you. and i look forward to the committee's questions. >> thank you, dr. miller. general allen, welcome to your first hearing since you assumed this command. e're very having you here today. the time is now yours. >> thank you, chairman. it is an honor to be with you

today, chairman mckeon, ranking member smith, distinguished members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss our operations in afghanistan. it's a pleasure to be here with my friend, dr. miller, the acting undersecretary of defense for policy, and chairman i ask that m y entered into the record. >> without objection, so ordered. >> thank you, sir. let me begin by expressing my gratitude to all of you on the committee for the support that you provide our men and women in uniform every day, that they are well equipped, well trained and well-leds a great testent to theests of this committee and the great work of this congress on behalf of the troops and their families, i want to thank you for that. the past eight months i've walks the ground of afghanistan with many of those troops. along with my friend and partner ambassador ryan crocker and my

nato compatriot, the senior civilian representative, ambassador sir simon gas, i've met with the leaders of most of the or 49 nations that serve along side us in the international security assistance force, isaf. and all through this i have been in close consultation with the afghan civilian and military leadership, most of whom have experienced the years of soviet occupation, the civil war, the darkness of the taliban, and in short they have been immeshed in their country's conflict over three decades. from all of this i can tell you unequivocally three things. first, we remain on track to ensure that afghanistan will no longer be a safe haven for al qaeda and will no longer be terrorized by the taliban. second, as a coalition, the largest in recent history, we are well aware and well along on

the progress to meet our 2010 lisbon commitments to transition security lead to the afghan national security forces by december 2014. and, third, our troops know the difference that they're making every day. they know it and the enemy feels it every day. to be sure the last couple months have been trying, and in the wake of the revelations that american troops mishandled religious texts to include the koran, protests, some of them violent, occurred in several but only a few regions across afghanistan. 32 afghans lost their lives in these riots, and even mor hurt. just since the 1st of january the coalition has lost 60 brave troops in action from six different nations. 13 of them were killed at hands of what afghan security forces, some of whom were motivated, we believe, in part, by the mishandling of

religious materials. just as tragic, as dr. miller mentioned, we're investigating what appears to be the murder of 16 innocent afghan civilians at hand of a u.s. service member. each of these events is heart wrenching, and my thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by this violence. coalition and afghan alike. but i assure you the relationship between the coalition and our afghan security forces remains strong. just two weeks ago i was in the heldman province visiting with marines and the afghan commanders in the wake of the koran burning incident when violence was at its peak. a young marine said he and his unit were told about the demonstration business afghan counterparts. the afghan troops told them, let us patrol outside the wire for a couple of days, we've got this for you.

understanding the gravity of the risk, the afghans had assumed for these marines the marine continued, our afghan brothers were trying to protect us. this one statement, spoken by a young marine, conveys the power of the brotherhood in arms forged in battle now over the years. it speaks to the trust that we have built with the afghans and to the shock absorbency of the relationship. and yet we know there is much hard and deadly work that remains to be done, that the progress is real and importantly that progress is sustainable. we have severely degraded the insurgency. one afghan commander told me in the south, in the latter part of 2011, quote, this time around the afghan taliban were the away team, unquote.ccess, as a result of our recent winter operations, we have seriously degradesed the taliban's ability to mount a major spring

offensive of their own. this spring they will come back to findny former strongholdsand good many absent or unwilling to join the fight. indeed in ka dan harndahar, 50 to reintegrate on short notice back into the afghan society, when we asked them why they laid down their arms they complains of the unrelenting pressure that they feel. they said they found themselves up against capable afghan forces in greater numbers, with greater frequency. while they were willing to fight foreigners, they wer their afgh especially afghans who fought back with courage, with skill because of the training that we had provided them. and the training we provide them is critical to our mission. throughout history insurgencies have seldom been defeated by

foreign forces. indeed they have been ultimately beaten by indigenous forces. in the long run our goals can only be achieved and then force. transition then is the linchpin of our strategy, not merely the way out. during the past 12 months, afghan security forces have expanded from 276,000 to 330,000. they will reach their full strength ahead of schedule. the deadline having been 1 october. the expansion and the professionalization of the afghan security force as hows us recover the remaining 23,000 u.s. surge forces this fall and enables us continue to pressure the taliban to reconcile and makes possible security transition to the afghans in accordance with our lisbon commitments and on time. security conditions remain good in areas that have transitioned thus far. from kabul in the east to harat

in the west, from the north to the south, and later this year, afghan security forces are expected to assume security leave for as much as two-thirds, or possibly more, of the afghan population. and as potential unifying influence in afghanistan, the afghan forces are better than we thought they were. and they're better than they thought they were when tried in combat. so as we move them to the fore, they're gaining more and more confidence and gaining more and more capability. in the pasve the total conventional operations were partnered with both coalition and afghan forces and 42% were afghan led. over the next twol remain combat ready, but increasingly focused on security forassistan missions as we move the afghans into the lead.

in this process, afghan leadership is simply key, and i can tell you that the afghans want to lead and they want the responsibility that comes with it. in fact for the very first time our joint coalition afghan operational campaign plan for january 2012 through july 2013 was conceived, developed, and planned with afghans in the lead. they are truly emerging as the real defeat mek simpchanism of insurgency and emblem of national unity and this is essential for the long-term security of afghanistan. but none of us harbor illusions. we know that we face long-term challenges as well. we know that al qaeda and other extremist networks, the very same networks that kill afghan and coalition troops every day, still operate with impunity across the boarder in pakistan. we know the taliban remain a resilient and determined enemy and that many of them will try to regain their lost ground this

spring through assassination, intimidation, high profile attacks and the implacement of ieds. we know that iran continues to support the insurgency and fuels often the flame of violence. we know that corruption still robs afghan citizens of their faith in their government and poor governorance itself advances insurgent messages. the campaign has been long. it has been difficult. and it has been costly. there have been setbacks, to be sure, and we're experiencing them now. and there will be setbacks ahead. i wish i could tell you that this war was simple and that progress could easily be measured, but that's not the way of counterinsurgencies. they're afraught with successes and setbacks which can exist in the same space and in the same time. but each must be seen in the larmer context of the overall campaign. and i believe the campaign is on track. we are making a difference.

i know this and our troops this. and i'd like to take just another moment of your time today, mr. chairman, to end where i began this morning with our troops and the thousands of american and coalition partnered troops bearing the weight of this conflict and those that will never return to their families. know this, that they are central to my every decision and every word to this committee. one of them, a young marine who was laid to rest tuesday in arlington cemetery was a hero. he knew what he stood for and he knew his mission, and he knew the risks. he knew he might have to give his life for this cause for which we fight. so sergeant william stacey prepared a letter for his family to be read in the event of his death. and in it he said, there will be a child who will live because men left the security they enjoyed in their home country to

come to his and this child will learn in new schools that have been built and he will walk his streets not worried about whether or not some leader's henchmen will comerow into a fie man who will pursue every tune his heart could desire. and he will have of freedom, which i have enjoyed so long. if my life buys the safety of a child who will one day change the world, then i know that it was all worth it. mr. chairman, i can only add that i am confident that americans are safer today because of the service of members like william stacey. and i am confident that we will prevail in this endeavor. thank you again for this opportunity today, for the extraordinary support that you and this committee provide every day to our magnificent young men and women in uniform. i am