Afghanistan War Commission Holds Public Hearing

Congress's Afghanistan War Commission holds a public hearing at 8:30 a.m. ET on June 23.

Expert witnesses who served in senior military, intelligence, diplomatic, and policy roles during the administration of former President Barack Obama, as well as Afghan officials who served during the administration of former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, will testify in two panels during the third hearing.

The first panel, “Surge Debates and Surge Decisions,” will feature testimony from:

Amb. Douglas Lute, deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan at the White House, 2007-2013;
David Sedney, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia, 2009-2013;
Amb. Jawed Ludin, chief of staff to Karzai, 2005-2007, ambassador to Norway, 2007-2009, and Canada, 2009-2011, and deputy minister of foreign affairs, 2011 (appearing remotely);
Amb. Karl Eikenberry, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, 2009-2011; and
LTG Michael Nagata, USA (Ret.), deputy chief in the Office of the Defense Representative at U.S. Embassy Pakistan, 2009-2011.




The second panel, “Implementation of the Surge,” will feature testimony from:

LTG Daniel Bolger, USA (Ret.), former commander of NATO’s Training Mission in Afghanistan, 2011-2013 (appearing remotely);
General Sher Karimi, Afghan National Army’s chief of operations (G3), 2003-2010, and the chief of the general staff, 2010-2015;
Amb. Dawn Liberi, coordinator for the Interagency Provincial Affairs Office at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, 2009-2011;
Amb. Earl Anthony “Tony” Wayne, Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs, 2009-2010, and Deputy U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, 2010-2011; and
BG Michael Meese, USA (Ret.), assistant chief of staff for International Security Assistant Force in Kabul, 2010-2011.