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Security Situation in Iraq and Syria: Us Policy Options and Implications for the Region Committee on Armed Services House of Representatives i [H.A.S.C. No. 113–123] SECURITY SITUATION IN IRAQ AND SYRIA: U.S. POLICY OPTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE REGION COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION HEARING HELD JULY 29, 2014 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 89–516 WASHINGTON : 2015 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS HOWARD P. ‘‘BUCK’’ MCKEON, California, Chairman MAC THORNBERRY, Texas ADAM SMITH, Washington WALTER B. JONES, North Carolina LORETTA SANCHEZ, California J. RANDY FORBES, Virginia MIKE MCINTYRE, North Carolina JEFF MILLER, Florida ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania JOE WILSON, South Carolina SUSAN A. DAVIS, California FRANK A. LOBIONDO, New Jersey JAMES R. LANGEVIN, Rhode Island ROB BISHOP, Utah RICK LARSEN, Washington MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio JIM COOPER, Tennessee JOHN KLINE, Minnesota MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO, Guam MIKE ROGERS, Alabama JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut TRENT FRANKS, Arizona DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania NIKI TSONGAS, Massachusetts K. MICHAEL CONAWAY, Texas JOHN GARAMENDI, California DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado HENRY C. ‘‘HANK’’ JOHNSON, JR., Georgia ROBERT J. WITTMAN, Virginia COLLEEN W. HANABUSA, Hawaii DUNCAN HUNTER, California JACKIE SPEIER, California JOHN FLEMING, Louisiana RON BARBER, Arizona MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado ANDRE´ CARSON, Indiana E. SCOTT RIGELL, Virginia CAROL SHEA-PORTER, New Hampshire CHRISTOPHER P. GIBSON, New York DANIEL B. MAFFEI, New York VICKY HARTZLER, Missouri DEREK KILMER, Washington JOSEPH J. HECK, Nevada JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas JON RUNYAN, New Jersey TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois AUSTIN SCOTT, Georgia SCOTT H. PETERS, California STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi WILLIAM L. ENYART, Illinois MO BROOKS, Alabama PETE P. GALLEGO, Texas RICHARD B. NUGENT, Florida MARC A. VEASEY, Texas KRISTI L. NOEM, South Dakota TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii PAUL COOK, California JIM BRIDENSTINE, Oklahoma BRAD R. WENSTRUP, Ohio JACKIE WALORSKI, Indiana BRADLEY BYRNE, Alabama ROBERT L. SIMMONS II, Staff Director ALEX GALLO, Professional Staff Member MIKE CASEY, Professional Staff Member AARON FALK, Clerk (II) C O N T E N T S CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF HEARINGS 2014 Page HEARING: Tuesday, July 29, 2014, Security Situation in Iraq and Syria: U.S. Policy Options and Implications for the Region ........................................................... 1 APPENDIX: Tuesday, July 29, 2014 ............................................................................................ 35 TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014 SECURITY SITUATION IN IRAQ AND SYRIA: U.S. POLICY OPTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE REGION STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS McKeon, Hon. Howard P. ‘‘Buck,’’ a Representative from California, Chair- man, Committee on Armed Services .................................................................. 1 Smith, Hon. Adam, a Representative from Washington, Ranking Member, Committee on Armed Services ............................................................................ 3 WITNESSES Biddle, Dr. Stephen, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University ........................................................................... 8 Boot, Max, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations .............................................................................. 10 Fishman, Brian, Counterterrorism Research Fellow, New America Founda- tion ........................................................................................................................ 13 Hunter, Hon. Duncan L., Former Chairman, House Committee on Armed Services ................................................................................................................. 4 APPENDIX PREPARED STATEMENTS: Biddle, Dr. Stephen .......................................................................................... 48 Boot, Max .......................................................................................................... 63 Fishman, Brian ................................................................................................. 75 Hunter, Hon. Duncan L. .................................................................................. 43 McKeon, Hon. Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ .................................................................... 39 Smith, Hon. Adam ............................................................................................ 41 DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD: [There were no Documents submitted.] WITNESS RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS ASKED DURING THE HEARING: [There were no Questions submitted during the hearing.] QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS POST HEARING: [There were no Questions submitted post hearing.] (III) SECURITY SITUATION IN IRAQ AND SYRIA: U.S. POLICY OPTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE REGION HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, Washington, DC, Tuesday, July 29, 2014. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:03 a.m., in room 2118, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon (chairman of the committee) presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. HOWARD P. ‘‘BUCK’’ MCKEON, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM CALIFORNIA, CHAIRMAN, COM- MITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The committee meets to receive testimony on the security situation in Iraq and Syria, the implications for the re- gion, and the United States policy options. Our witnesses include Dr. Stephen Biddle, Dr. Max Boot, Mr. Brian Fishman, and former HASC [House Armed Services Com- mittee] chairman, Duncan Hunter. I would like to thank Chairman Hunter for being here today. He—is this public? VOICE. Yes, it is. The CHAIRMAN. I was going to say that we pulled him off the golf course, but you can do that now. I know that your insights and ex- perience will be extremely valuable for the committee. I don’t know how many have read your book, but your knowledge of the situa- tion is very relevant. Also, I want to thank your son, who is not here yet, for his sug- gestion to get the perspectives of those who know Iraq best. It was his idea that we do this and I think it was a great one. And to draw from their extensive experience as we consider a way for- ward. We have a superb panel today and we are working to secure time this fall to gain further insights from key military commanders who were on the ground in Iraq. Mr. Hunter, Jr., like many of the veteran members of this com- mittee who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has a unique viewpoint and a strong voice to bring to these deliberations and I appreciate his engagement and leadership. The security situation in Iraq and Syria continues to worsen. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] now controls large swaths of terrain in the heart of the Middle East. In Iraq, Al-Anbar, Mosul, and Balad, all areas where countless young American men and women made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our security and to provide Iraqis a better future, have fallen under the ISIS control. (1) 2 Iraqi security forces have folded upon contact with ISIS. Prime Minister Maliki has failed to create a coalition government and in- stead has chosen to send Shia militias into Sunni tribal areas to battle ISIS, exacerbating sectarian divides and violence. Last night, I heard on the radio as I was driving home that the ISIS in the Mosul are destroying religious shrines, anything that symbolizes some great treasures that have existed for centuries. They are just going through and destroying. In Syria, Bashar al-Assad remains in power. The moderate Syr- ian opposition has been marginalized, losing ground to both Assad and ISIS. And the foreign fighter threat has become a matter of homeland security. Meanwhile, Iran has taken advantage of this moment to further reinforce its only ally in the region, Bashar al- Assad, and expand its influence in Iraq and beyond. The landscape is incredibly complex: the sanctuary that ISIS now enjoys, the expansion that Iran is trying to achieve in this moment, and the fragile stability of the region, together, presents strategic challenges for the United States security and our interest. The administration’s disengagement and inaction since declaring victory for leaving Iraq has been disturbing. I have urged the Obama administration to engage, to look at the region holistically, and to continue and to outline a comprehensive policy and strategy for the region. However, thus far, largely what we have seen from this adminis- tration are statements on what it is not doing and proposals that lack the rigor to match the problem that we are facing. For exam- ple, we received a request for $1.5 billion for a Syria Stabilization Initiative in the fiscal year 2015 OCO [Overseas Contingency Oper- ations] budget request that included no details. I thought our Ranking Member Smith said it well when he told senior Defense officials that we want to be supportive, but sell us, give us something to work with. I acknowledge that there may be good options. At this point, we may be looking at the least bad of the bad options. But we need more than inaction because we cannot tolerate ISIS having sanctuary, freedom of movement, and the platform to launch attacks against the United States and our allies. And our moral leadership should not allow us to stand idly by
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