“The committee meets today to receive the testimony of the Independent Commission on the Iraq Security Forces.  I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome General James Jones, the chairman of the commission and an old friend of the committee, as well as the other commissioners who are joining him at the witness table, General Joulwan, former Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre, and Chief Ramsey.  It is good to see General Joulwan and John Hamre again, and to have the opportunity for the committee to hear too from Chief Ramsey.  Thank you, and all the other commissioners for your work.

    “The work of the commission was mandated by the supplemental appropriations bill that we passed earlier this year.  The commission was charged with conducting an independent assessment of the Iraq Security Forces.  A similar assessment was carried out by our own Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee earlier this year under the leadership of Marty Meehan and Todd Akin, and I hope that the Independent Commission found their excellent report to be helpful. 

    “The Independent Commission’s report raises a number of questions about the ability, and more importantly, the motivation of the Iraqi Security Forces to take over responsibility for security from American forces.  I think most of us agree that the Iraqi Army is in better shape than some of the other forces and has shown some improvement over time.  But as the GAO mentioned in yesterday’s hearing, there are still concerns about sectarian activities by some army units.  I hope the commission will address this question.

    “The Iraqi Security Forces are one of the vital pieces of the current strategy in Iraq.  They are the forces that are supposed to support ours in the surge.  They are the forces that will have to “hold” areas that the U.S. forces have cleared when American forces pull back from providing primary security in Baghdad, Anbar, and a few other cities.  They are ultimately the forces that will have to take over the fight against the insurgency.  The faster they can take over this fight, the better for us.

    “This committee and the Congress will face significant questions about the future mission of U.S. forces and about how best to continue the mission of training and equipping Iraqi Security Forces.  We need your critical assessment of how to move forward.

    “General Jones, John Hamre, General Joulwan, and Chief Ramsey, thank you again for agreeing to appear before us.  We truly appreciate your efforts.  I will now yield to the Ranking Member, the gentleman from California, for any comments he would care to make.”