“The surge helped achieve a lower level of violence. It has not yet achieved its stated purpose- political accommodation among Iraq’s leaders,” Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich) said in his opening statement at the Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on the Situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our “open-ended commitment in Iraq” is an invitation to “continued Iraqi dawdling and dependency,” and it’s carrying the costs of the lives of Americans and billions of dollars.

Senator John Warner (R-Va) expressed his respect for Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and said that he’d had the opportunity to work with every Secretary of Defense since 1969, and that “you never shot from the hip.” Gates, Warner said, understood that they needed bipartisan support and that Gates had it like Warner had never seen before. We thank you, Warner said, but there is much to be done. I commend the concept of the surge, he said, and I commend most heartily the courage of the troops. By any fair and pragmatic judgement, it has been a success.

The withdrawal of approximately 3,400 non-combat forces began this month, Gates began, saying that it will continue through the fall and winter, and finish in January. The drawdown is possible, he said, “because of the success achieved in reducing violence and building Iraqi security capacity.” There has been a fundamental change in the nature of the conflict, and “no matter what you think about the origins of the war in Iraq, we must get the endgame there right.”

In response to a congressional question of the assessment of the new government in Pakistan and their willingness to work with the United States, Gates said they’re already seeing positive signs with Pakistan, because Pakistan has suffered a lot of casualties and they’ve captured terrorists. What’s important in Pakistan, is to forge a new stronger partnership with the civilian government. The recent attacks have made it clear to them that there is an existential threat to Pakistan.

Gates said he is not satisfied with the civil reconstruction and the development of the capacity of the Afghan government. “That war on terror started in this region, and it must end there.” The reality is, Gates continued, is that in the last 18 months, we have added over 20,000 troops to Afghanistan, and there are two considerations about the situation. One, we need to think about how heavy a “military footprint” the United States ought to have in Afghanistan, and are we better off channeling resources instead into “building the Afghan Army” as quickly as possible. Two, (which he says he feels is evident to all), is that without changing deployment patterns, and length of tours, we do not have the forces to send three additional brigade combat teams to Afghanistan at this point, but they will probably become available in the spring/summer of 2009. That’s a decision that will ultimately be up to President Bush’s successor.

Code Pink, an anti-war group, proliferated the audience, wearing “Bail out of Iraq” placards and multitudes of pink buttons, signs, and t-shirts. They mainly sat quietly in the audience, appropriately not holding signs above their heads, but at one point one member started calling out “shame!” during Gates’ speech.

Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) says that the knowledge North Korea has gained from its nuclear program can never be undone, and there will always be a weapons or proliferation threat from the nation (:25).

 

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Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) testified before the National Parks Subcommittee hearing to discuss a series of bills that would the establishment of a commemorative trail in connection with the women’s suffrage movement, in addition to preserving key environmental regions.

Clinton stated that “heritage tourism” is critical for economic development that more communities are beginning to use for advancement. The series of bills would create the “Votes for Women History Trail Route” in the state of New York. Dole said that public involvement in public parks is also important to preserving hunting and fishing areas.

However, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) expressed concern over the bills’ provisions on cattle grazing, hunting and maintenance of forests. He stated that amendments needed to be made to address these serious concerns.

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) quotes CIA lawyer Jonathan Fredman who advised that if a detainee dies due to waterboarding, then the interrogator is “doing it wrong.” (0:40)

 

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The origins of aggressive interrogation methods were discussed by the Senate Armed Services Committee. In his opening statement, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said methods used in US military programs that intend to help captured American forces resist violent interrogation through simulation have been twisted by military forces and used to interrogate. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) added that the Bush administration used “bizarre legal theories” to justify interrogation strategies and asserts that its decisions will be considered shortsighted in the future. Graham expressed concern with the Supreme Court’s decision that prisoners in Guantanamo Bay have the right to habeas corpus, saying that Americans will be disturbed to realize that they have the same constitutional rights as terrorists.

Dr. Jerald Ogrisseg, a former Air Force psychologist, said that the Air Force’s (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) SERE program is not intended to teach interrogation but rather to help captured Americans resist forms of interrogation used by states and parties that are not in compliance with the Geneva Convention. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Daniel Baumgartner Jr. said a memo outlining physical pressures put on American prisoners-of-war sent to him by Ogrisseg was requested by the office of the Secretary of Defense. Both Baumgartner and Ogrisseg said they were under the impression that the Department of Defense wanted to determine appropriate interrogation procedures and had that they had no reason to assume the memo would be used to promote improper methods.

Ogrisseg said Navy SEALS subjected to brief waterboarding in training repeatedly stated they would divulge information to captors if faced with the waterboard again. Navy procedures allowed for trainees to be waterboarded for no more than 20 seconds with no more than two pints of water. Baumgartner said what the committee referred to as “SERE techiniques” are used often and have worked against American troops. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) stated that it would have been more logical for the Department of Defense to seek interrogation advice from the FBI instead of using a program not meant to teach interrogation. Senator Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) questioned the effectiveness of aggressive interrogation, pointing out the likelihood that captured terrorists have undergone training similar to that of United States Armed Forces.

At the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee hearing, Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich) says when there is only one name on the ballot, that’s not appropriate. What we’ve done is what you have wanted us to do, which is to say that we tried to fix it, and we’re here as a reform group, and we’re proud that we tried to reform the system. We’re not going to back away from that, but how do you have a fair reflection of a flawed primary? (1:02)

 

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In his speech addressing Congress before the full committee hearing on his nomination to be reappointed to grade of general and to be commander of the United States Central Command, General David Petraeus said there are four concerns. The first is violent extremism, including but not limited to al Qaida. Second, weapons of mass destruction and lack of transparency by countries such as Iran, which he said is a major cause of concern. Third, lack of sustainable economic development in the Middle East, which is a serious security concern, as poor communities can cause hotbeds of extremism. Fourth, narcotics and arms smuggling which can threaten legitimate operations and can help out terrorists. While this is not an exhaustive list, he said, this is a basic list. (more…)

Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) suggests to Chief Economist Jeffrey Harris of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that speculation is a cause of inflation. (0:31)

 

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Chairman of the Committee Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) began by talking about two recently published reports drafted by the Afghanistan Study Group and the Atlantic Council which highlight widespread and growing instability in Afghanistan. According to Levin, the Afghanistan Study Group report finds that since 2002, violence, insecurity, and opium production have “risen dramatically.” He said that the Atlantic Council report states, “Make no mistake, NATO is not winning in Afghanistan.” Levin said that despite these reports, the Bush administration continues to “paint a rosy picture” of the situation in Afghanistan and that he hopes the administration will interpret the reports as a signal of the “urgent need to reassess its approach” there.

Member of the committee Senator John Warner (R-VA) spoke briefly saying that the “credibility of NATO is at stake” in the ongoing fight in Afghanistan. He said that a failure in Afghanistan would boost extremist movements and called for Europe to contribute more to the war. He said that some Europeans have been unwilling to commit more troops to Afghanistan and said that terrorist attacks in Europe such as those in London and Madrid prove that Europeans have an interest in winning in Afghanistan.

James Shinn, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs gave testimony before the committee where he stated that he agrees with many of the conclusions reached by the Afghanistan Study Group and the Atlantic Council in their reports. He said that the approach taken in Afghanistan needs to be “fundamentally altered” but he did say that NATO is winning “slowly and painfully.” According to him, NATO is successful in every battle against Taliban forces but the failure to win the war is caused by the inability to eliminate the resurgence of those forces. He cited widespread corruption within the Afghan National Police (ANP) as a major obstacle preventing Afghan people from trusting the security officials. He also said that the U.S. does not bare sole responsibility in Afghanistan but the United Nations, Europe, NATO, and Afghanistan itself must all contribute to secure the country.

Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, commented mostly on positive aspects of the conflict. He said that there is not yet success in Afghanistan, but that many achievements have been made there. According to him, 5 million Afghan children are enrolled in school this year—up from 900,000 children in 2001. He said that Afghans are all talking about the number of internet cafes and gas stations springing up off a road that the U.S. built. He also said that economic growth is on the rise and described last year’s estimated growth of 13% as “remarkably high.” But he did say that narcotics trafficking, weak government, and corruption remain “endemic.”