to the president, to the chain of command, a very important consideration will be the state of the nasf. they are better than we thought they would be because i believe, as -- and i know of your own personal experience you have advised, you have seen forces that just require the opportunity to get into the fight to come into their own. and that's what's happening now. so we're going to watch this very closely. we're going to do all we can with advisers to accelerate that process. and if part of the outcome of my evaluation is that there is a reduced requirement for u.s. or isaf combat power, i'll make that part of my recommendation, sir. >> good. thank you for that. dr. miller, you're in a little precarious situation here today, a lot of us understand that, in that your confirmation is a week from now to officially occupy the position that you're now acting in. but i want to ask you a question about this strategic partnership, because from my perspective and from some others up in the senate, the nature of the strategic framework agreement that took place with respect to iraq should hav

is a competent and capable nasf that is the path to success. as we continue to provide resources and continue to mentor them and treason -- transition to a strategic overwatch, this has got to be the central mission. and it is one that i know that this committee and the congress has watched closely. metrics don't tell everything, but we are committed to provide the best information that we can on those metrics. but we have seen very substantial growth in quantity. general allan is it better able to speak to it, but by the indicators that i have seen we also have seen improvements in quality. and as the growth of 23 under 52,000 level sometime up before october this year, but focus on quality and on training will need to be sustained, not just for the rest of this year, but for many years to come. >> that is what i was afraid of. that is what i have been hearing. that is the problem 1/2. -- the problem i have. i have a discussion -- a respectful disagreement about our mission there with that being said, i respect the job that you all do in such