S 1169

To provide for benchmarks to evaluate progress being made toward the goal of transitioning security responsibilities in Afghanistan to the Government of Afghanistan.

June 9, 2011

Mr. NELSON of Nebraska introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

To provide for benchmarks to evaluate progress being made toward the goal of transitioning security responsibilities in Afghanistan to the Government of Afghanistan.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Afghan Responsibility for Afghan Security Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) October 7, 2011, will mark the 10-year anniversary of the start of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

(2) Military operations in Afghanistan have cost United States taxpayers more than $300,000,000,000 to date.

(3) As of June 6, 2011, 1,599 members of the United States Armed Forces have lost their lives in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and more than 11,000 have been wounded.

(4) On December 1, 2009, at a speech at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, President Barack Obama stated that the United States would begin the transfer of United States Armed Forces out of Afghanistan in July 2011 with the pace of reductions to be based upon conditions on the ground.

(5) In the December 2010 Afghanistan-Pakistan Annual Review, President Obama reaffirmed that the core goal of the United States strategy in Afghanistan is to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda.

(6) In January 2010, participants at the London Conference pledged to develop a plan for phased transition to Afghan security lead. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and foreign ministers of the constituent elements of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) endorsed the Joint Framework for Transition in April 2010, and President Obama and President Karzai of Afghanistan committed to the process in a May 2010 joint statement.

(7) At the Kabul Conference in July 2010, the international community expressed its support for the objective of President Karzai that the Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF) should lead and conduct all military operations in all provinces in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, support that was later re-affirmed by North Atlantic Treaty Organization and International Security Assistance Force member nations at the Lisbon Summit in November 2010.

(8) On May 1, 2011, in support of the goal to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda, President Obama authorized a United States operation that killed Osama bin Laden, leader of al Qaeda. While the impact of his death on al Qaeda remains to be seen, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called the death of bin Laden a `game changer' in a speech on May 6, 2011.

SEC. 3. BENCHMARKS TO EVALUATE THE PROGRESS BEING MADE TOWARD THE TRANSITION OF SECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES FOR AFGHANISTAN TO THE GOVERNMENT OF AFGHANISTAN.

(a) Benchmarks Required- The President shall establish, and may update from time to time, a comprehensive set of benchmarks to evaluate progress being made toward the transition of security responsibilities in Afghanistan to the Government of Afghanistan.

(b) Submittal to Congress- The President shall include the most current set of benchmarks established pursuant to subsection (a) with each report on progress toward security and stability in Afghanistan that is submitted to Congress under sections 1230 and 1231 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110-181; 122 Stat. 385, 390).

END