Statement of Senator Carl Levin at the Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on United States Central Command

Today we welcome Admiral Fallon, Commander of United States Central Command, in his first appearance before this Committee since his confirmation hearing earlier this year. Admiral Fallon’s command is responsible for U.S. security interests in 25 nations that stretch from the Horn of Africa, through the Arabian Gulf region, into Central Asia. He commands the bulk of U.S. troops in combat today, and he is responsible for an area with a host of security challenges which may at any time erupt into violence requiring further military response.

However, Admiral Fallon must be a diplomat as well as a military man. We rely on his judgment, and on his diplomatic skills to help us deter and prevent conflict, almost as much as we do his military skills when a military response is appropriate. Today we will be seeking his counsel on a host of troubling issues in his area of responsibility – predominately, but not entirely, Iraq.

In Iraq, the Prime Minister has said, “The crisis is political, and the ones who can stop the cycle of aggravation and bloodletting of innocents are the politicians.” The Iraqis are not meeting the benchmarks they have set for themselves. The Iraqi Assembly’s committee considering amendments to the Iraqi Constitution appears to be as far from completing its work as it has always been. Meanwhile, the Assembly is apparently planning to go on a two month recess at the end of June. Incredibly, Hasan Suneid, an adviser to Prime Minister Maliki, was quoted in the paper the other day as saying that “time is irrelevant.” Well time is plenty relevant to us, our troops and their families.

Iraqi military units were promised extra pay and a short three-month Baghdad deployment to gain their acquiescence for the mission, while American Army units are being extended for fifteen-month tours. Prime Minister Maliki also promised there would be no political interference with the operation, but there are recent disturbing press reports of a department of the Prime Minister’s office, the Office of the Commander in Chief, “playing a major role in the arrest and removal of senior Iraqi army and national police officers, some of whom had apparently worked too aggressively to combat violent Shiite militias.” The report, in The Washington Post, quoted U.S. Brigadier General Dana Pittard, commanding general of the Iraq Assistance Group which provides the military transition teams advising Iraqi units, as saying, “their only crimes or offenses were they were successful” – meaning successful against the Mahdi Army. He goes on to say, “I’m tired of seeing good Iraqi officers having to look over their shoulders when they’re trying to do the right thing.”

Baghdad is burning while the Iraqi politicians avoid responsibility for their country’s future. Our soldiers risk their lives while Iraqi politicians refuse to take political risks. We cannot have the lives of American service members held hostage to Iraqi political intrigue and intransigence. We need to pressure them to make the necessary compromises.

The situation in Afghanistan poses another major challenge to the CENTCOM Commander. As the Director of National Intelligence, Michael McConnell, told this Committee in February, 2007 will be “a pivotal year” for Afghanistan. The trends at the end of 2006 were disturbing. A recent State Department report on terrorism states that in 2006 the Taliban-led insurgency remained “a capable and resilient threat to stability.” Overall attacks on coalition forces are up three fold from the year before; the use of Improvised Explosive Devices, or IEDs, and suicide bombings increased fourfold, with militants launching approximately 130 suicide attacks. Just as troubling, military officials reported that attacks along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border increased two-fold, and in some areas three-fold, following Pakistan’s signing of a peace agreement in September with pro-Taliban militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

In addition, last year witnessed the growth of the narcotics trade in Afghanistan. Retired General Jim Jones, former Commander of U.S. European Command, said that narcotics were the number one problem in Afghanistan, providing a funding source for the insurgency and contributing to public corruption. A November report by the United Nations and World Bank concluded that international efforts to combat the growth of the narcotics trade have failed.

In response to these trends, U.S. troop commitments in Afghanistan were increased in January, and the Defense Department has announced its intention to maintain those troop levels into next year. In February, the President outlined an Afghanistan strategy, which includes additional assistance for training the Afghanistan Security Forces. And the Administration has pressed our NATO and other coalition partners for additional commitments of troops and equipment. While I remain concerned about national restrictions that some of our NATO allies have placed on the use of our troops, other coalition partners, including the British, Canadians, Dutch, Danes, and the Afghan National Army, are in the fight alongside U.S. troops The challenges facing U.S. Central Command also include a broader terrorist threat throughout its area of responsibility. In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly in September, Afghanistan President Karzai said: “We must look beyond Afghanistan to the sources of terrorism. We must destroy terrorist sanctuaries beyond Afghanistan, dismantle the elaborate networks in the region that recruit, indoctrinate, train, finance, arm and deploy terrorists.” Another source of instability throughout the region is Iran. Iran’s clandestine nuclear activities and its support for terrorist organizations pose a threat to peace in the region and beyond. I am deeply concerned by reports that Iranian Improvised Explosive Device (IED) technology has been found in the hands of insurgency groups in Iraq who are attacking American soldiers. The Iraq war has led to the strengthening of Iran. The conference beginning today in Sharm el Sheik, Egypt, presents an opportunity to confront Iran diplomatically in the hopes of improving stability in Iraq and the region.

I look forward to discussing these critical issues with Admiral Fallon.