THE AFGHANISTAN PAPERS: COSTS AND BENEFITS OF …

S. Hrg. 116?203

THE AFGHANISTAN PAPERS: COSTS AND BENEFITS OF AMERICA'S LONGEST WAR

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL SPENDING OVERSIGHT AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

FEBRUARY 11, 2020

Available via Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security

and Governmental Affairs

(

40?386 PDF

U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 2020

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio RAND PAUL, Kentucky JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma MITT ROMNEY, Utah RICK SCOTT, Florida MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

GARY C. PETERS, Michigan THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire KAMALA D. HARRIS, California KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona JACKY ROSEN, Nevada

GABRIELLE D'ADAMO SINGER, Staff Director DAVID M. WEINBERG, Minority Staff Director

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk THOMAS J. SPINO, Hearing Clerk

SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL SPENDING OVERSIGHT AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

RAND PAUL, Kentucky, Chairman

RICK SCOTT, Florida MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire KAMALA D. HARRIS, California KRYSTEN SINEMA, Arizona

GREG MCNEILL, Staff Director HARLAN GEER, Minority Staff Director

KATE KIELCESKI, Chief Clerk

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C O N T E N T S

Opening statement:

Page

Senator Paul ..................................................................................................... 1

Senator Hassan ................................................................................................. 3

Senator Hawley ................................................................................................ 12

Senator Lee ....................................................................................................... 32

Prepared statement:

Senator Paul ..................................................................................................... 41

Senator Hassan ................................................................................................. 44

WITNESSES

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020

John F. Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction ....... 5 Hon. Douglas Lute, Former United States Permanent Representative to

NATO and Senior Fellow, Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship, Belief Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School ........................................................................................................... 16 Hon. Richard A. Boucher, Former United States Ambassador to Cyprus and Senior Fellow, The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University ................................................................................................. 23 Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis, USA, Ret., Senior Fellow and Military Expert, Defense Priorities ................................................................................... 26

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF WITNESSES

Boucher, Hon. Richard A.: Testimony .......................................................................................................... 23 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 71

Davis, Lt. Col. Daniel: Testimony .......................................................................................................... 26 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 77

Lute, Hon. Douglas: Testimony .......................................................................................................... 16 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 69

Sopko, John F.: Testimony .......................................................................................................... 5 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 46

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THE AFGHANISTAN PAPERS: COSTS AND BENEFITS OF AMERICA'S LONGEST WAR

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020

U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL SPENDING, OVERSIGHT AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, Washington, DC.

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 1:35 p.m. in room 342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Rand Paul, Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding.

Present: Senators Paul, Hawley, Hassan, and Sinema. Also present: Senator Lee

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR PAUL1

Senator PAUL. I now call to order this hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management.

Last night I flew to Dover Air Force Base with the President to honor two soldiers who were killed this week in Afghanistan, America's longest war. We honor their bravery and patriotism. We honor their commitment to their country and to their fellow soldiers. But frankly, they deserve better.

Our soldiers deserve better from their elected officials, from us. Congress needs to do its duty and decide whether to continue America's longest war. Congress needs to debate what the mission in Afghanistan is today. Congress needs to vote on whether to continue the war in Afghanistan. One generation cannot bind another generation to war, and should not.

We now have soldiers fighting who were born after the 9/11 attacks. We need to reexamine what our mission is in Afghanistan. Our brave young men and women in uniform deserve at least as much.

On December 9, 2019, the Washington Post published a series of investigative reports known collectively as the Afghan Papers. The Afghanistan paper series is based, in part, on some 400 interviews conducted by the Special Investigator General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, SIGAR, between 2014 and 2018. U.S. Government officials who had been responsible for the conduct of the Afghanistan War in some capacity, both military and civilian, sat with SIGAR as part of their Lessons Learned Program, which is intended to

1 The prepared statement of Senator Paul appears in the Appendix on page 41.

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