S.Amdt. 4661

SA 4661. Mr. GRAHAM (for himself and Mr. McCain) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2943, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle B of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1216. SENSE OF SENATE ON THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF THE
ADVICE OF MILITARY COMMANDERS TO ENSURE FORCE
LEVELS IN AFGHANISTAN AFTER 2016 ARE
CONDITIONS-BASED.

(a) Finding.--The Senate makes the following findings:
(1) The United States vowed to hold those responsible for
the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks accountable, and
seeks to ensure that terrorists never again use Afghan soil
to plot an attack on another country.
(2) Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,
the United States decisively expelled the Taliban from
control of Afghanistan and sought to promote a multilateral
agenda to support the stabilization and reconstruction of
Afghanistan by rebuilding its institutions and economy.
(3) The United States and Afghanistan signed a Bilateral
Security Agreement (BSA) on September 30, 2014, that provides
for an enduring commitment between the Government of the
United States and the Government of Afghanistan to enhance
the ability of the Government of Afghanistan to deter
internal and external threats against its sovereignty.
(4) The United States and its coalition partners remain in
Afghanistan at the invitation of the National Unity
Government.
(5) Continued political and economic progress in
Afghanistan is contingent upon the security of the country
and the safety of its people.
(6) Since the beginning of 2016, senior military
commanders, including the current Commander of Resolute
Support and United States Forces-Afghanistan, General John W.
Nicholson Jr. and the current Commander of United States
Central Command, General Joseph L. Votel, the senior military
commanders closest to the fight, have testified that the
security situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating, and that
they support a withdrawal of United States forces from
Afghanistan only when conditions warrant.
(7) In the first three months of 2016, the United Nations
reported that Afghanistan documented 600 civilian deaths and
1,343 wounded, with almost one-third of the casualties being
children.
(8) The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has
metastasized beyond the borders of Iraq and Syria, announcing
its formation on January 10, 2015, in Afghanistan where it
has carried out bombings, small arms attacks, and kidnappings
against civilians and security forces in a number of
provinces.
(b) Sense of Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the future trajectory of security and stability in
Afghanistan relies significantly upon the continued support
of the United States and coalition partners;
(2) adjustments to United States and coalition force levels
in Afghanistan should be conditions-based and made with all
due consideration to the assessment and advice of military
commanders on the ground;
(3) decisions on United States and coalition force levels
in Afghanistan should take into account the capabilities
required to preserve and promote the hard-fought gains
achieved over the last 15 years;
(4) any decisions with regard to changes in United States
force levels in Afghanistan should be determined in a timely
manner and communicated to allies and partners to afford
adequate planning and force generation lead times;
(5) the United States should continue its efforts to train
and advise the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces
(ANDSF) in warfighting functions so that they are capable of
defending their country and ensuring that Afghanistan never
again becomes a terrorist safe-haven for groups like the
Taliban, al Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant (ISIL);
(6) the United States should continue, in partnership with
the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and
conducting counterterrorism operations to address threats to
the national security interests of the United States and the
security of Afghanistan;
(7) the decision of the President in October 2015 to
continue the missions of training, advising, and assisting
the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and
conducting counterterrorism operations while maintaining the
associated United States force level of 9,800 troops in
Afghanistan was in the national security interests of the
United States; and
(8) Congress should support the President if the President
decides to adjust current plans based on conditions on the
ground by continuing robust missions to train, advise, and
assist the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and
conduct counterterrorism operations and maintain the
necessary level of United States forces in Afghanistan.
______