[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18185-18188]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN STUDY GROUPS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 21, 2012

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I submitted for the Record extensive 
correspondence I have had with the Obama Administration regarding the 
importance of creating the bipartisan Afghanistan/Pakistan Study Group 
(APSG). Today I submit for the Record the remaining correspondence I 
have had from October 3, 2011 to December 13, 2012. The very fact that 
President Obama and Secretary Panetta will not create the APSG is a 
disgrace.
                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                  Washington, DC, October 3, 2011.
     Hon. Leon Panetta,
     Secretary of Defense,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Secretary Panetta, I am disappointed that your staff 
     was unable to meet with Ambassador Peter Tomsen to discuss 
     his book on Afghanistan and Pakistan. While I understand that 
     both you and Mr. Tomsen have busy schedules, I fear you and 
     your staff may be missing pertinent information and insight 
     that could help devise a successful strategy in South Asia.
       You only need to read the headlines to see the erosion in 
     our relationship with the Pakistani military and intelligence 
     services. Recent comments from retiring chairman of the Joint 
     Chiefs Admiral Mullen have described how the Pakistani 
     military and Inter Service Intelligence agency actively 
     cooperate with two of the most deadly terror networks sowing 
     the seeds of destruction and chaos in Afghanistan. Ambassador 
     Tomsen's book, The Wars of Afghanistan provides detailed 
     information on the tribal structures and the realities of 
     Pakistani involvement with terrorist groups. I sincerely hope 
     that you and your staff will read his book.
       I have also enclosed a column Mr. Tomsen wrote for the most 
     recent edition of World Policy Journal. I hope you and your 
     staff will find the piece informative.
       The situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan grows more dire 
     nearly every day. I again ask that you use your authority to 
     create

[[Page 18186]]

     the Af/Pak Study Group. We owe nothing less to the men and 
     women making the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that we have a 
     long-term strategy for success in the region.
       Best wishes.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
                                               Member of Congress.
                                  ____
                                  
                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                 Washington, DC, January 17, 2012.
     Hon. Leon Panetta,
     Secretary of Defense, Washington DC.
       Dear Secretary Panetta, As I am sure you are aware, the 
     Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 contains language 
     providing your office with $1 million to assemble the 
     Afghanistan/Pakistan (Af/Pak) Study Group. I request that you 
     do so immediately.
       The Los Angeles Times reported last week (article enclosed) 
     that the most recent National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) 
     paints a very bleak picture of the war in Afghanistan and the 
     future of U.S. operations in that region. It reflects 
     concerns that I have expressed in numerous letters to you 
     over time, especially the importance of understanding Afghan 
     tribal and political structures and the Pakistani military 
     and intelligence services actively cooperating with two of 
     the most deadly terror networks in the region.
       Given this stark assessment from our own intelligence 
     community, the need to create the Af/Pak Study Group is 
     clear. The Af/Pak Study Group's analysis and recommendations 
     could bring needed clarity to current and future U.S. 
     military and diplomatic operations. You supported the Iraq 
     Study Group and lent your considerable expertise to that 
     effort, so I am perplexed as to why you do not similarly 
     support the Af/Pak Study Group.
       Your November 3, 2011, letter to me stated that coalition 
     troops are making progress against the Taliban and other 
     militants and that progress is being made on our relationship 
     with the Pakistani government and military. I have enormous 
     respect for the men and women serving our country in South 
     Asia and acknowledge that our troops are performing their 
     mission with bravery and resolve; however, the NIE appears to 
     contradict your assessment.
       Also enclosed is an article by the Hudson Institute's Nina 
     Shea discussing how Hussain Haqqani, the former Pakistani 
     Ambassador to the United States is facing possible charges of 
     treason for his alleged involvement in ``Memogate.'' Shea 
     asserts, ``There is every reason to believe that the real 
     reason Haqqani is being targeted is that he is a prominent 
     moderate Muslim, one of the few remaining in Pakistan's 
     government.'' Shea goes on to point out that Haggani was 
     personal friends with two men, Punjab governor Salman Taseer 
     and Pakistan's Federal Minister of Minority Affairs Shabbaz 
     Bhatti, whose lives were cut tragically short last year as a 
     result of their outspoken critique of Pakistan's draconian 
     blasphemy laws.
       Increasingly we see a trend in Pakistan of moderating 
     voices being marginalized and altogether silenced. While I 
     appreciate that you are ``working hard with Pakistan to 
     improve the level of cooperation'' so that terrorist and 
     militant groups no longer find safe haven in the country--I 
     am afraid the complexity of the evolving situation in 
     Pakistan necessitates more.
       The NIE's assessment could lead to support for the war in 
     Afghanistan eroding among the American people and I feel the 
     same sentiment will soon permeate the halls of Congress. If 
     the president has simply decided that U.S. involvement will 
     end in 2014 and that no further U.S. strategy is needed, he 
     should clearly state that this is his policy and be 
     forthcoming with the American people. If President Obama has 
     not made a final determination on U.S. strategy going 
     forward, I ask again, what harm can come from a group of 
     independent experts using their experience to offer solutions 
     for long-term success?
       Following 9/11, I have supported U.S. military actions in 
     the War on Terror. I want to see our soldiers, diplomats and 
     Foreign Service personnel return home with their heads held 
     high, knowing they all played a crucial role in establishing 
     stability in South Asia where countries no longer pose a 
     threat to our national security. I firmly believe that you 
     can help ensure this happens by using the money made 
     available to you to create the Af/Pak Study Group. 
     Establishing this panel quickly will show the American people 
     that the Obama Administration is willing to consider all 
     possible options to achieve success in this volatile region.
       I urge you to take these steps immediately before support 
     for our mission in Afghanistan further erodes.
       Best wishes.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
                                               Member of Congress.
                                  ____
                                  
                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                Washington, DC, February 10, 2012.
     Hon. Leon Panetta,
     Secretary of Defense, Washington DC.
       Dear Secretary Panetta: I am sure you are aware of the 
     enclosed article by Army Lt. Col. Daniel Davis that recently 
     appeared in the Armed Forces Journal regarding the status of 
     our mission in Afghanistan and the capabilities of Afghan 
     National Army (ANA) forces. I am deeply troubled by the 
     conclusions reached in Col. Davis' assessment and believe 
     that it further underscores the importance of immediately 
     creating the Afghanistan/Pakistan Study Group.
       Col. Davis' piece tracks closely with the latest National 
     Intelligence Estimate's assessment of current and future 
     conditions in the region which I referenced in my January 17 
     letter to you (enclosed). These two assessments, coupled with 
     the February 4 United Nations report showing that Afghan 
     civilian casualties are increasing and the 2011 Red Team 
     study by NATO on fratricide by ANA forces on coalition 
     troops, lend credibility to the growing belief that U.S. 
     strategy in South Asia is not going well.
       In the interest of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and 
     Marines serving--and in many cases dying--in Afghanistan, I 
     implore you to immediately establish the Afghanistan/Pakistan 
     Study Group. As I have referenced in previous letters to you, 
     Congress has provided the funding for this panel and under 
     the law, you can select its members.
       While reasonable people can disagree on specific policy 
     options, I find it difficult to understand why the Obama 
     Administration would not embrace a panel of five Democrats 
     and five Republicans (modeled on the Iraq Study Group on 
     which you and former Secretary Gates served), who love their 
     country more than their party, putting their expertise to 
     work and offering constructive recommendations to achieve our 
     mission.
       We owe it to the men and women serving in uniform--and the 
     families supporting them--to have the best possible long-term 
     strategy for success.
       Best wishes.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
                                               Member of Congress.
       P.S. I know you care deeply about our service members 
     serving overseas and that you and your team are doing what 
     you think is best for our country. But I believe any 
     objective observer would agree we need fresh eyes on the 
     target.
                                  ____
                                  
                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                  Washington, DC, August 17, 2012.
     Hon. Leon Panetta,
     Secretary of Defense,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Secretary Panetta, I received the enclosed letter from 
     General Martin Dempsey on your behalf. I find it difficult to 
     understand how General Dempsey can write that, ``. . . we 
     have made steady progress in developing Afghan security 
     forces and do not support diverting resources to establish 
     the APSG [Afghanistan Pakistan Study Group]'' when twice this 
     week we have seen Afghan forces murder U.S. troops. On August 
     14, the enclosed Washington Post article detailed the tragic 
     news that three U.S. Marines were gunned down by an Afghan 
     police officer after sharing a meal with him. Just this 
     morning, The Washington Post reported that two more troops 
     were murdered in Farah Province. News reports indicate that 
     37 U.S. troops have been murdered by Afghan security forces 
     in 2012 alone. With all due respect, how can you state that 
     Afghan security forces are making, ``steady progress'' when 
     they continue to gun down our forces?
       Given these continuing incidents, I am perplexed at how you 
     can continue to hold the belief that spending $1 million to 
     study our strategy in South Asia is ``diverting resources.'' 
     The funding for the APSG was included in Public Law 112-74, 
     yet the Obama Administration has not exercised the authority 
     made available in this law to establish the panel. As I have 
     reminded the public numerous times, you served on the Iraq 
     Study Group, which was successful. I do not know if the APSG 
     would achieve similar results, but I simply cannot understand 
     your reasons for opposing its creation if success is 
     possible.
       One of the Marines killed in these recent attacks, Gunnery 
     Sergeant Ryan Jeschke, lived in my congressional district 
     before enlisting in the Marines. His death, along with the 
     other Marines and countless other service members murdered by 
     Afghan forces, highlights the failure of the Obama 
     Administration's strategy to ensure the safety of our own 
     troops, not to mention the safety of the Afghan population. I 
     am saddened that another American Marine has given his life 
     for a war that the administration is trying its best to 
     ignore. I cannot remember the last time President Obama spoke 
     publically about his strategy for protecting the Afghan 
     population from the Taliban and insurgents, or responded to 
     murders like that of Sergeant Jeschke, or provided his 
     definition of long-term success or our ability to achieve it.
       Leon, our nation is at war and this administration has not 
     made it a priority. Our fighting forces deserve to know that 
     their sacrifices are understood and honored. Sergeant Jeschke 
     was on his sixth tour of duty overseas, a reality faced by 
     many troops and their families. Until this administration 
     places the appropriate emphasis on the war

[[Page 18187]]

     in Afghanistan and educates Americans about our goals, 
     Marines like Sergeant Jeschke, his fellow Marines and other 
     U.S. troops will continue to die silently, with only a 
     mention in The Washington Post and a folded flag from the 
     commanding officer for a grief-stricken family.
       Best wishes.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
                                               Member of Congress.
       P.S. Leon, just yesterday, seven more of our troops were 
     killed when their helicopter crashed in Kandahar Province. It 
     is sad that you will not use the funds available to you for 
     the APSG.
                                  ____
                                  
                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                     Washington, DC, June 7, 2012.
     Hon. Barack H. Obama,
     The President, The White House, Washington DC.
       Dear Mr. President: Two weekends ago, many Americans 
     celebrated Memorial Day with a visit to the beach, the pool 
     or possibly a neighborhood cookout. But for some this annual 
     holiday was far more than simply a long weekend. Rather it 
     was somber remembrance marked by a profound sense of loss for 
     the son or daughter that never came home or the parent that 
     never met their child.
       Our nation has been at war for 11 years now--the longest in 
     our history. As such, these grim realities hit close to home 
     for many families, not to mention the less obvious but still 
     devastating impact of prolonged separations, life-altering 
     injuries, divorce, post traumatic stress syndrome and even 
     suicide.
       These challenges are set against the backdrop of 
     precipitously declining public support for the war effort, an 
     increasingly bleak picture on the ground in Afghanistan and 
     pervasive national confusion about our overall aims and if 
     they are attainable.
       For these and countless other reasons, I began pressing 
     your administration in August 2010 to convene a bipartisan, 
     independent Afghanistan-Pakistan Study Group (APSG), modeled 
     after the Iraq Study Group (ISO), to serve as ``fresh eyes'' 
     on the target and conduct a comprehensive analysis of U.S. 
     strategy in the region. This group would have been charged 
     with putting forward policy options for your consideration, 
     and perhaps just as significantly, would have fostered a 
     national conversation about the war effort: Why are we there? 
     What are we aiming to accomplish? At what cost? What are the 
     consequences of failure?
       Before proposing this idea I spoke with a number of 
     knowledgeable individuals, including former senior diplomats, 
     public policy experts and retired and active military. At 
     that time, many believed our policy was adrift and all agreed 
     that an outside group was needed. Ryan Crocker was among 
     those dignitaries who embraced the idea, prior to taking on 
     his current post as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.
       I believed then, and continue to believe, that a group of 
     the caliber of the ISO would have served this nation well on 
     a matter of utmost national security and interest. Despite 
     repeated correspondence and even legislative action (the FY 
     2012 Defense Appropriations bill included language directing 
     the Secretary of Defense to convene an Af-Pak Study Group and 
     provided the necessary funding to ensure the group's 
     viability) your administration has repeatedly failed to act. 
     I have been particularly pwzled by your intransigence given 
     that prominent members of your administration served with 
     distinction on the ISO, including Defense Secretary Leon 
     Panetta.
       Further, in a 2006 interview, you signaled, as a U.S. 
     senator, support for the ISG and its recommendations. When 
     asked by CBS News reporter Harry Smith whether, if you were 
     president, you would take seriously the group's 
     recommendations, you answered, rather emphatically, ``I would 
     take these recommendations very seriously.'' And yet, now you 
     are president, and such a group could have easily been 
     formed, with bipartisan support, and could have offered 
     recommendations outside of the scope of what your own 
     advisors were putting forward, which may have profoundly 
     altered our strategy and ultimately our course in 
     Afghanistan. And still you failed to act.
       In light of your recent announcement at the NATO summit in 
     Chicago that ``the Afghan war as we understand it is over,'' 
     it is abundantly clear that your administration is immovable 
     and has no intention of pursuing the Af-Pak Study Group, as 
     Congress directed. That said, I remain deeply troubled by 
     what appears to be a pattern of politicization of national 
     security matters of the highest magnitude.
       On May 29 the New York Times reported that David Axelrod, 
     your political advisor and chief campaign strategist, 
     repeatedly attended high-level national security meetings 
     related to terrorist drone strikes when he worked at the 
     White House. The article noted ``David Axelrod . . . began 
     showing up at the `Terror Tuesday' meetings, his unspeaking 
     presence a visible reminder of what everyone understood: a 
     successful attack would overwhelm the president's other 
     aspirations and achievements.''
       This revelation is in keeping with the reporting of Bob 
     Woodward in Obama's Wars. Woodward indicated that discussions 
     of the war strategy were infused with political calculations. 
     Woodward also wrote of an administration that ``wrestled with 
     the most basic questions about the war . . . What is the 
     mission? What are we trying to do? What will work?''
       These are questions that demand answers and could have been 
     taken up by an Af-Pak Study Group. But I venture that such a 
     group would not have factored politics into their calculus. 
     Was that a consideration in your decision to disregard 
     congressional intent as it relates to the Af-Pak Study Group?
       Our men and women in uniform have fought bravely and served 
     with distinction in Afghanistan and will continue to do so 
     until they are called home. Any shortcomings in our strategy 
     or overall vision for success are not their burden to bear. 
     As too often happens, they have found themselves at the mercy 
     of the latest political winds blowing through Washington. And 
     I have been deeply disappointed that, as president, you 
     appear to have allowed these political winds to drive the war 
     strategy.
       It is not at all certain what will unfold when U.S. troops 
     exit or significantly decrease in number--there are varied 
     sobering scenarios, including the Taliban once again seizing 
     the reins of power; a destabilized and nuclear armed 
     Pakistan; Afghanistan as a haven for international 
     terrorists. Only history will tell. But I believe one thing 
     is clear: your administration missed a golden opportunity 
     when, for two years, it failed to convene an Afghanistan-
     Pakistan Study Group to provide an independent, outside 
     analysis of the most pressing national security matter of 
     your presidency.
       Best wishes,
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
                                               Member of Congress.
                                  ____
                                  
                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                Washington, DC, December 13, 2012.
     Hon. Barack H. Obama,
     The President, The White House, Washington DC.
       Dear Mr. President: This week, the New York Times reported 
     on the bleak state of affairs in Afghanistan. Citing a 
     Pentagon report, the article stated, ``The assessment found 
     that the Taliban remain resilient, that widespread corruption 
     continues to weaken the central Afghan government and that 
     Pakistan persists in providing critical support to the 
     insurgency. Insider attacks by Afghan security forces on 
     their NATO coalition partners, while still small, are up 
     significantly: there have been 37 so far in 2012, compared 
     with 2 in 2007.'' Given this disturbingly dreary assessment, 
     I remain deeply disappointed that you have refused to use the 
     money provided by Congress to appoint the Afghanistan/
     Pakistan Study Group (APSG) to review United States strategy.
       The report's stark assessment of Afghan capabilities is all 
     the more discouraging, given the recent comments of Afghan 
     President Hamid Karzai. As you may know, in a recent 
     interview, President Karzai blamed the insecurity in 
     Afghanistan on the United States and our NATO countries, 
     saying, ``Part of the insecurity is coming to us from the 
     structures that NATO and America created in Afghanistan.'' It 
     is appalling that President Karzai would make such 
     statements, given the enormous sacrifice made over the last 
     11 years by coalition forces.
       With your policy faltering and the Afghan president blaming 
     us for all the ills in his country, it perplexes me that you 
     refuse to use appropriated dollars to establish the APSG. 
     More than 2,000 service members have been killed since 
     fighting commenced in 2001. Many service members have served 
     four or more tours in multiple theaters, yet you refuse to 
     use money authorized by Congress to convene a panel that 
     could offer solutions that could decrease the number of U.S. 
     casualties. In fact, both your current and former Defense 
     secretaries served as members of the Iraq Study Group, so 
     they both know the success it achieved and that similar 
     results could be produced by the APSG.
       In addition to the strategic failure of your policy, the 
     most recent report from the Special Inspector General for 
     Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) documented numerous 
     incidents of U.S. aid money being wasted through graft, 
     corruption and mismanagement. In just one example, the SIGAR 
     report notes that an Army sergeant pleaded guilty to 
     approving fake documents that allowed $1.5 million worth of 
     fuel to be stolen. While I am sure your administration takes 
     the SIGAR reports seriously and is trying to address the 
     problems raised, at the same time you are actively ignoring 
     policy resources that could provide valuable insight and 
     possible solutions to these and other problems.
       I find all the arguments your administration officials have 
     used to oppose the creation of the APSG to be woefully 
     insufficient. In his November 5 letter to me, General Martin 
     Dempsey claims that using the $1 million authorized for the 
     APSG would be an unwise diversion of resources. Yet in May, 
     the media reported that more than $800,000

[[Page 18188]]

     had been spent to fly your secretary of defense to his home 
     in California many weekends, a figure that now likely exceeds 
     $1 million. I do not know if this was an arrangement you made 
     specifically with Secretary Panetta before he accepted the 
     job, but the money spent flying him to and from California 
     could have more than paid for the APSG.
       The wasted money cited by the SIGAR report, as well as the 
     money spent flying Secretary Panetta back to the comfort of 
     his home in California, would provide more than enough 
     resources to establish the APSG. Do you believe that flying 
     Secretary Panetta home every weekend--a luxury certainly not 
     provided to a service member on their fifth tour of duty--is 
     a better use of taxpayer money than getting the best minds in 
     our country to provide ``fresh eyes'' on U.S. policy in this 
     troubled region? As public officials, we have a solemn duty 
     to protect those we order into combat. For the sake of our 
     forces in theater and the safety of our nation, I once again 
     implore you to use the money available to create the APSG.
       As I have stated many times, I do not have the answers on 
     how to assure a successful outcome in Afghanistan and 
     Pakistan. However, I firmly believe that the APSG could 
     provide insight into the problems plaguing the region and 
     ways that we can better protect national security for decades 
     to come.
       Best wishes.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
     Member of Congress.

                          ____________________