Sec. 1222. Sense of Congress on United States military support in Afghanistan
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/bill/113/hr/1960/rh/section-1222·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that— since the United States engagement in Afghanistan beginning in 2001, United States and coalition forces have achieved substantial progress toward security and stability in Afghanistan, including the training of the Afghan National Security Forces; a stable and secure Afghanistan with a credible government is in the long-term national security interests of the United States and would contribute to the overall stability and security in the region; as the United States accelerates transfer of the lead for security to the Afghan National Security Forces by the spring of 2013, the United States should assist the Afghan National Security Forces to maintain gains in security and should continue to evaluate the capability and capacity of the Afghan National Security Forces through the fighting season in 2013; following the duration of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO)mission on December 31, 2014, the United States should continue efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda; the Haqqani Network continues to be the most important enabler of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan; the operational requirements of the Afghan National Security Forces, in part due to the threat to the Government of Afghanistan from the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, and other associated groups, necessitate that the Afghan Security National Forces have sufficient operational capacity to maintain the security of Afghanistan, including enabler capabilities such as aviation, casualty evacuation, logistics, intelligence, and indirect fire; the United States, with its Afghan partners, should provide assistance to the Government of Afghanistan so that the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and associated terrorist and insurgent groups cannot militarily overthrow the Government of Afghanistan or plan and launch attacks against United States and Afghan interests from safe havens in Afghanistan; the United States military’s transition to counterterrorism and advise and assist missions should occur consistent with agreements between the United States, Afghanistan, and international partners as well as conditions on the ground; a bilateral security agreement that preserves vital United States interests between the United States and the Government of Afghanistan, achieved at the earliest practicable time, is critical to the long-term stability of Afghanistan as well as United States’ long term interests; however, the United States should not sign a bilateral security agreement that is antithetical to United States national security interests or commits to funding not directly linked to achieving those interests; the United States should support the achievement of a bilateral security agreement between NATO and the Government of Afghanistan because such a bilateral security agreement also will contribute to the long term stability and security of Afghanistan; the United States should conduct the required oversight and audits of United States stability programs to ensure that the activities are in line with the intended purpose of these programs; the United States should assist the Government of Afghanistan to provide security for the Afghan elections scheduled for 2014 and provide such assistance as requested by Afghan Government entities overseeing the elections and judged necessary by the United States to help guarantee a credible and legitimate election; and significant uncertainty exists within Afghanistan regarding the level of future United States military support following the end of the NATO mission on December 31, 2014, and therefore in order to reduce such uncertainty and promote further stability and security in Afghanistan following the end of the NATO mission, the President should— publicly support a residual United States military presence in Afghanistan consistent with United States national security interests; as part of the announcement of residual force levels, publicly define the mission sets and the support that the United States will provide to the Afghan National Security Forces; and publicly support sufficient funding for the Afghan National Security Forces until the Government of Afghanistan is able to independently sustain the security of Afghanistan consistent with United States national security interests.