DOD LEADERS SAY U.S. ON TRACK IN AFGHANISTAN

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
U.S. on Track in Afghanistan, Military Leaders Tell Senate
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2013 - Despite Taliban resistance, U.S. military objectives in Afghanistan are on track, senior U.S. military leaders told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey and Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr. told the committee during their reconfirmation hearing that the International Security Assistance Force mission is on track to achieve its objectives in Afghanistan and end its mission by 2015.
President Barack Obama nominated Dempsey and Winnefeld for second terms as chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Dempsey told the senators that Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the ISAF commander, said he will achieve his campaign objectives in developing the Afghan security forces.

"Now, he does also acknowledge there are some potential gaps that he will have better clarity on after this fighting season," Dempsey said.

The chairman and vice chairman told the senators that they have given their recommendations for the size of a residual force the United States will leave in Afghanistan post-2014.

"We've provided several options," Dempsey said. "As the Joint Chiefs, we have made a recommendation on the size, and we've also expressed our view on when that announcement would best meet the campaign objectives."

The United States and Afghanistan must finalize a bilateral security arrangement -- with legal protections for American service members -- before a decision is made. Dempsey said he would stress this when he meets with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Dempsey told the senators he seeks opinions about Afghanistan.

"Besides speaking with General Dunford on a weekly basis and visiting him about quarterly, I also reach out to as many other people as I can possibly reach out to who can give us other views," he said.

All these reports align, the chairman added.

Having American troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014 is crucial to success in the country, Dempsey said.

"Although I've told you that the progress of the security forces has been significant," he added, "they would not have the level of confidence to sustain themselves over time if it happens that precipitously."

ISAF COMMANDER GEN. JOHN ALLEN UNDER INVESTIGATION

Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, ISAF Commander  

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

DOD Inspector General Investigates ISAF Commander
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT, Nov. 13, 2012 - The Defense Department inspector general has opened an investigation of Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said today in a statement.

The statement said the FBI referred a matter involving Allen to the Defense Department on Nov. 11.

Today, Panetta directed that the matter be referred to the DOD IG for investigation and informed the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The House Armed Services Committee also has been notified, he said.

"While the matter is under investigation and before the facts are determined, General Allen will remain ISAF commander," the secretary said.

"His leadership has been instrumental in achieving the significant progress that ISAF, working alongside our Afghan partners, has made in bringing greater security to the Afghan people," Panetta added, "and in ensuring that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists. He is entitled to due process in this matter."

Allen took over as ISAF commander and commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan in July 2011. President Barack Obama recently nominated him to succeed Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis as commander of U.S. European Command and as NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe.

Obama also nominated Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., now assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, to succeed Allen in Afghanistan. Panetta said he has asked the president, who has agreed, to put Allen's nomination on hold until the relevant facts are determined.

The secretary also said he has asked the ranking members of the Senate Armed Services Committee – Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, and Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona -- that they delay tomorrow's scheduled confirmation hearing on Allen's pending nomination.

"I respectfully requested that the Senate act promptly on [Dunford's] nomination," Panetta added.

ISAF COMMANDER GEN. ALLEN SAYS SUMMER "HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL" IN AFGHANISTAN

Photo:  ISAF Commander Gen. John Allen
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Summer 'Highly Successful' for ISAF and Afghan Forces, Allen Says
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2012 - The International Security Assistance Force has kept tireless pressure on the enemy in Afghanistan, Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, ISAF commander, said today.

"It's been a busy summer for us, and in ways not readily evident to most outside Afghanistan, it's been a highly successful summer," the top coalition commander told Pentagon reporters in a video teleconference.

"Coalition and Afghan forces have maintained unrelenting pressure on the insurgents, and we have denied and disrupted their operations and have largely pushed them out of the population centers," he added.

Partnered with Afghan forces, ISAF troops have been able to limit the enemy's freedom of movement and disrupt their logistics, the general said.

"We've taken scores of their leaders and fighters off the battlefield, and we've systematically separated the insurgents from more and more of the Afghan population," Allen said. "Insurgent attacks, while still indiscriminate and deadly, are increasingly localized, affecting an ever-shrinking proportion of the Afghan population. The insurgency we face today, while still active, dangerous and capable of inflicting harm, is trying hard to project its strength as its position continues to slowly erode."

More and more, the general said, Afghan national security forces are leading operations.

"Partnered operations have increasingly been led by Afghan forces, and the insurgency is today confronted by a rapidly transforming and increasingly capable [Afghan national security force], which is bearing a larger share of the burden and a larger share of the sacrifice," he said.

As fighting continues, Allen said, Afghan security forces leading the fight have suffered the toll of larger casualties.

"As we continue to mourn our own precious and honored dead, we recognize that our Afghan partners are now suffering the preponderance of the friendly casualties," he said. "Their resilience, reinforced by the commitment of the international community to stand by Afghanistan well after 2014, has sent a powerful and a disheartening signal to the insurgents.

"For the insurgents to prevail, they will have to keep up their increasingly costly fight for at least another decade," Allen added.

Significant work remains to be done from now until the end of 2014, when Afghan forces will be responsible for their nation's security, the general said.

"With 28 months left in the ISAF mission, we are forging ahead with the process of transition," he added. "Ultimately, our goal will not only be achieved by that which will be secured by ISAF forces, but primarily ... by Afghan forces. As the Afghans assume full responsibility for the security of their country, our support will continue."

The effort in Afghanistan is a continuum, Allen said, creating a series of conditions that ultimately will make the country a sovereign state secured by its own national security forces.

"We aim to leave behind a stable Afghanistan, a contributor to the stability and the prosperity of the region, and never again a safe haven for the terrorists," he said. "That remains our objective, and we're on track to achieve it."