U.S. Military Posture and National Security Challenges in the Greater Middle East and Africa

Yeah, I mean, I think the whole thing is about the quality of the product, but I think the whole thing is about the quality of the product. I think the whole thing is about the quality of the product. I think the whole thing is about the quality of the product. I think the whole thing is about the quality of the product. I think the whole thing is about the quality of the product. Oh, yeah. I think the whole thing is about the quality of the product. I think the whole thing is about the quality of the product. Yeah, I think the whole thing is about the quality of the product. I think the whole thing is about the quality of the product. I think the whole thing is about the quality of the product. you know, it's like a little bit of a i mean, i don't know if it's like a little bit of a like a little bit of a yeah, i mean yeah. well i mean i don't know if it's like a little bit of a like a little bit of a yeah, i mean i don't know if it's like a little bit of like a little bit of a yeah. i don't know about the food but like the food there is really good and and then so on the yeah i mean i was here i was just like oh it's really good and then i was like oh it's really good and then i was like oh it's so good oh oh and then i was like oh it's so good and then i was like oh it's so good and then i was just like oh it's so good and then i was like oh it's really good and then i was like oh it's so good and then i was back and i was like oh it's so good and then i was like oh oh it's so good and then i was like oh it's so bad yeah hmmm i think that's why i didn't get a ticket to the wedding. i was just like, you know, i think they're just like, i don't really know what's going on. And then i was like, you know, i don't really know what's going on. So i was like, i don't really know what's going on. And then i was just like, yeah, i don't really know what's going on. And then i was, like, no, Committee will co- committee will come into order. Uh, without objection, the chair reserves the right to declare the committee in recess at any point. Uh, before we begin, I wanna remind those in the audience that this hearing is open to the public, but actions that disrupt or distract the proceedings will not be tolerated. The chair reserves the right to remove disruptive persons from the hearing. The US Capitol Police are on hand to assist with the ta- that task, and I thank them for their service. Also, uh, a few more housekeeping notes. We will adjourn this open session no later than one thirty p m. Members are also advised that we will enforce the new security protocol protocols, uh, for today's closed hearing. The HASS staff at that time will ask you to sign in to the classified portion of the brief of the hearing. Um, you will have to leave all materials and other items, including daily briefing books, purses, et cetera, outside the room. Uh, except for unclassified newspapers containing questions for the briefers and surrender all newspapers for dest- destruction or safekeeping in a secure committee space upon departure. Uh, with that, I'll turn back to the opening remarks. Today, uh, we continue our posture hearings with CENTCOM and AFRICOM. For forty-seven years, the Iranian regime and its proxies have murdered Americans, attacked our allies, and terrorized the Middle East. On October seven of twenty twenty three, the world saw exactly what Iran's terror network was capable of when Hamas carried out the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The lesson is clear, Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. The Ameri- uh, President Trump is committed to ensuring that that never happens. Last summer, Operation Midnight Hammer delivered a destructive blow to Iran's nuclear program. Operation Epic Fury shattered the regime's ability to shield that program with its conventional forces. Despite the criticism, there should be no confusion about what this operation set out to achieve. Destroy Iran's ballistic missiles and drone capabilities, cripple Iran's navy, and third, dismantle Iran's defense industrial base, to prevent it from uh projecting power outside its borders. And the results were decisive. To quote Admiral Cooper, his in his written statement, " In thirty-eight days we rolled back forty years of Iranian military investment." More than eighty-five percent of Iran's ballistic missile, drone, and naval defense uh industrial base has been damaged or destroyed. The regime's ability to stockpile ballistic missiles and long-range drones has been set back by years. Iran's air force is no more. Over ninety percent of Iran's na- traditional navy has been sunk. And Iran is now far less capable of sustaining terrorist proxies like Hizballah, and the Houthis, and Hamas. This operation also demonstrated the unmatched professionalism, lethality and courage of the American warfighter. Every American should take pride in what our force has accomplished under extraordinarily demanding conditions. And we must honor the thirteen brave Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice in their service to our country. Operation Epic Fury also demonstrated the enduring strength of America's allies' uh alliances and partnerships. That begins with Israel, a model ally, fought alongside the United States throughout this campaign. Our Gulf partners and Jordan, provided critical access, basing, and overflight support. So too did our NATO allies. Almost without exception, our NATO allies opened their bases and their airspace to support this mission. That access was critical to sustaining an operation of this scale. But this conflict also reminded us who our friends are not. China and Russia reportedly assisted Iran during this conflict, That should concern every American citizen. Any effort by our adversaries to help Iran rebuild its military must carry consequences. And while Operation Epic Fury has concluded, pressure on the Iranian regime continues. I wanna hear more from Admiral Cooper about how CENTCOM's uh current p- about how um CENTCOM's current posture including the blockade of the Iranian ports, is supporting diplomatic efforts. by increasing pressure on what uh remains of the regime. My understanding is that the damage to Iran's oil infrastructure and the loss of millions of dollars in daily revenue are imposing severe economic cost on Tehran. That pressure matters because not only must Iran never obtain a nuclear weapon, it must also not be allowed to dominate the Strait of Hormuz. China is watching closely to see whether the United States will defend freedom of navigation protect global commerce and respond decisively to aggression. Uh, we must not falter in our resolve. At the at the same time, we must not forget the area of the Middle East and Africa remain hotbeds of terrorism. It is imperative that we continue hunting ISIS, al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab, and other terrorist groups before they can threaten our homeland. I want to hear from both commanders about how they are working with regional partners to keep terrorists on the run. The successful operation over the weekend targeting the second in command uh of ISIS in Nigeria demonstrated once again that terrorists have no refuge from the United States. Military are our partners. General Anderson, uh, to sustain that pressure, I want your assessment of whether AFRICOM has the necessary resources. I look for- forward to hearing from all of our witnesses today, without yield to the ranking member, my friend uh Adam Smith for any opening statement he may have.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, thank our witnesses for coming before us today. Uh, the CENTCOM and AFRICOM AORs are incredibly important, and if there's one word to sum it up right now, it's instability. And that indis- instability is incredibly dangerous. Certainly we will talk, I know, a great deal about the war against Iran and the instability in the Middle East, but Africa is also a very unstable place li- right now. We are engaged in bombing campaign from time to time in Nigeria. ISIS and ISIS affiliates are are rising. particularly in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. So that instability is definitely making us less safe. Um, terrorist organizations have bases of support, an almost caliphate-like situation is existing in Africa, and obviously we've seen uh the chaos in the Middle East with the rise of Shia-backed militias in Iraq the ongoing war between Israel and Lebanon and obviously the ongoing conflict with Iran and the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. Um, it it goes beyond the national security threat in terms of terrorism, the economy, uh the impact it's having certainly on our economy but the global economy as well. And then we can also have the rise of disease. We have a, you know, a strain of Ebola, uh that apparently is stronger than usual growing up in the DRC where there is also instability. So the number one biggest thing is how can we bring more stability to the region? Work with partners, allies, others in the region to get us to a better place than we are in right now because it is as bad as been for a very, very long time. On Iran, I disagree with the chairman unsurprisingly. Um, yes, we have knocked back a lot of Iran's capability. The truth of the matter is, in all the questions that I've asked, we don't know for sure how much. We we don't know exactly how many ballistic missiles they have, what their capabilities are. Um, we know it has been substantially weakened, but we don't have specific answers to that. We also have to worry about the fact that Russia, China and North Korea are more than willing to be helpful to Iran, and I'm not sure, threats aside, we're in a position to change their mind about that. So we have to be worried about that. But we do know for sure, whatever capability Iran has, they have the capability to shut down the straight-four moves. And frankly, I don't care whether they've got seventy-five percent less ballistic missiles, eighty percent less ballistic missiles, they clearly, the regime is in place, It's not going anywhere. It is more hard line than it was when this war started. And they have done something that they had not previously done, which is shut down the Strait of Hormuz, which is causing massive economic disasters for for us and for the entire world. So, you know, we can go through the the body count here and say we destroyed this many ballistic missiles, we destroyed this many launchers we set their capability back. That's all fascinating. Strategically, we are in a disaster right now. And that's what needs to be fixed. And we do not see a path out of that. Let's just focus on the nuclear weapon program. Cuz any criticism of the war is sort of met with, well gosh, if it wasn't for the war, Iran would have already detonated nuclear weapons in the Middle East. That's completely ridiculous. I mean, that that's an argument for for Fox News and Newsmax maybe, but in the real world, that doesn't justify what has happened. Because the nuclear program for Iran is no weaker today than what was when this war started. we have destroyed none of their nuclear material and set them back not one tiny little bit the only thing that has changed on Iran's nuclear program they are now unwilling to negotiate about it they were willing to negotiate they were actively negotiating about it when we started this war so please let's not get over into the detail about oh we destroyed this many missiles this many launchers what is the strategic plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and get us any closer to stopping Iran's nuclear program. For all the criticisms of the previous presidents, which of course the current president was one of those previous presidents, all of those previous presidents managed to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon without dropping the Middle East and much of the world into chaos. That is really the difference right now. And I know most of the uniformed folks when we ask these questions say, well, we're just gonna tell you what's going on. We we don't do the the strategy. I find that an incredibly unacceptable answer, and not an answer that I had ever gotten before from uniformed personnel under any other president. The whole " we just work here" thing doesn't really work. You guys should have strategic answers and you should be willing to share them with the American people and with this committee. Where we're at right now is the president every few days threatens to kill as many Iranians as humanly possible. He does it in a variety of different language. Um, but basically, no quarter, you know, we will erase their civilization, we'll kill every single person in Iran. And the chairman's absolutely right. The Iranian regime is awful, evil, terrible. They've killed tens of thousands of Iranian civilians and done terrible things throughout the region. What are we in a competition with them now? To to talk about how many Iranian civilians we can kill? So just saying that pushes a good chunk of the world further away from us. They're like, I don't know that we wanna deal with those people. But of course, he says it, and then the next day or two days later, doesn't do anything. much less that, and then claims that Iran is now willing to negotiate on all these issues. In fact, the absolute nadir of this process was I think it was four weeks ago, when I woke up Friday morning and the president said, "Iran has completely capitulated." You remember that? The war was over. You know, Iran had agreed to get rid of their nukes, get rid of their terrorism support, get rid of their ballistic missiles, open up the Strait, it was open. And it was reporting all day long like this was real. The president literally made a up. There was no progress whatsoever, and now the credibility of our entire country, because sadly the credibility of our country hinges on the credibility of our president, is dead. Who's gonna believe anything we say? There is no evidence today that Iran is negotiating any of these things. Their position has not budged. Pay us to open up the strait. That's basically their position, which is an incredibly weaker position for us. So what we need to know today is what's the strategic plan to get us out of this hole we're in? And thumping our chest about how many successful missions we ran doesn't change the fact that our economy is in the toilet, inflation is higher than it's been in three or four years, gas prices are up a buck fifty, and there's no end in sight. And it's worse for the rest of the world. Cuz as the president dismissively pointed out, but correctly pointed out, the rest of the world is more dependent upon the straight-of-whore movies being open than we are. which makes them just so grateful to us for having effectively shut it down. So let's hear a plan that isn't the president getting up in the morning and imagining that somehow wish fulfillment works in foreign policy, imagining that Iran has completely capitulated to all of our demands. What is an actual plan to get us out of this hole that the United States has done such an outstanding job of digging for all of us? That's what we need to hear today. I yield back.

Uh, thank the ranking member. Uh, now I'd like to introduce our witnesses. Uh, first we have the Honorable Dan Zimmerman, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of CENTCOM, and uh General Dagan, uh uh Dagvin Anderson, uh Commander of APRCOM. Uh, welcome to our witnesses. Uh, Mr. Zimmerman, we'll start with you. You're recognized.

Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Smith, and distinguished members of this committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the posture of our forces and strategic priorities within the US Central Command and US Africa Command areas of responsibility. It is my honor to appear alongside CENTCOM Commander Admiral Cooper, and AFRICOM Commander General Anderson. My testimony today will focus on the department's approach to posture and strategy in these two theaters and how that is guided by our national defense strategy. or NDS. The NDS is based on the principles of peace through strength and America first foreign policy, flowing from the conviction that a government's first duty is always to its own citizens. Our strategy has four succinct lines of effort. First, we will defend the homeland. Second, we will deter China in the Indo-Pacific. Third, we will encourage and expect our allies and partners to step up and take more responsibility especially in those areas where they have direct national security interests. And finally, to achieve all of this, we must supercharge the US defense industrial base. Our strategy is America first. The United States will prioritize theaters and challenges with the greatest consequence for American interests and where only American power can play a decisive role. Our adversaries must understand without doubt that the United States possesses both the capability and the political will to use decisive force to protect its vital interests and to safeguard the security and prosperity of the American people. As the NDS lays out, we aim to work with and support our allies and partners around the world to deter threats, set conditions for peace, and to pursue mutual security interests. Regarding the Middle East, President Trump has made clear that the United States seeks a more peaceful and prosperous Middle East, one defined by commerce, and not chaos. This needs to be a Middle East where our allies and partners invest in and take the lead in responsibility for their own security. But to be clear, the United States will always retain the ability to act decisively to defend ourselves and our allies where and when we need. Operation Epic Fury is an example of this strategy in action. The President initiated Operation Epic Fury in direct response to the Iranian regime that waged a one-sided war against America for forty-seven years, that threatened allies and partners, and caused thousands of American casualties. And I would like to mention here, and the, and acknowledge the fourteen fallen service members. We honor them and their families. Across every domain, land, sea, air, and cyber, the US joint force delivered synchronized and layered effects to disrupt, degrade, and destroy Iran's ability to conduct and sustain combat operations. The secretary has noted that although Operation Epic Fury was historic for its complexity, lethality and precision, it also had a laser-focused mission, scoped to our interests and the defense of our people and our allies. President Trump also seeks to redefine the United States' relationship with Africa, transitioning from an aid-focused relationship to a trade and investment-focused relationship. favoring partnerships with capable, reliable states intent on achieving common interests. Our department will take a resource-sustainable approach to counter-terrorism and stand ready to take direct action against Islam- Islamic terrorists in Africa, who are both capable of and intent on in s- striking the U. S. homeland, while empowering African and other partners to lead efforts to degrade and destroy terrorist organizations throughout the continent. Our operation with Nigeria over the weekend is an example of this strategy in action. Working alongside Nigerian partners, US forces executed a raid in northeast Nigeria, killing the ISIS global director of operations, Bilal al-Muniki, and members of his inner circle. Muniki will no longer be able to plot against American citizens and interests. In conclusion, the Department of War will continue, without wavering, to defend and secure the freedom and prosperity the United States. Our posture in the US CENTCOM and US AFRICOM AORs is a coherent and integrated execution of our national defense strategy. It is an America first policy that advances peace through strength. Under the direction of President Trump, the department has demonstrated our commitment and capability to defend the homeland and secure American priorities abroad while encouraging our allies and partners to increasingly shoulder responsibility on mutual security interests. The department is confident in the strategy, in our exceptional service members, and in our ability to defend the United States. Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.

Thank you, Mr. Zimmerman. Admiral Cooper, you're recognized.

Well, good morning, Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Smith, members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. And thanks especially to the committee for your steadfast support to the US military and to US Central Command. I'm pleased to join today with Commander of US Africa Command, my good friend General Dag Andersen, and Assistant Secretary Dan Zimmerman. I'm grateful to be accompanied by my wife, Susan, representing the families of the more than fifty thousand service members deployed in the Middle East. I'm also pleased to be joined by Fleet Command Master Chief Lateef Compton, the Senior Enlisted Leader of CENTCOM. Recent events in the central region show how quickly the course of history can change. Decades old features of the strategic landscape believed immutable, have been upended, bringing both challenges and opportunities. I strongly believe that every success that we have starts and ends with our people. In just the last seven months, America's sons and daughters serving in CENTCOM have played key roles in implementing the President's twenty-point peace plan for Gaza, degrading the ISIS threat in Syria, preventing an ISIS crisis by conducting a historic transfer of over five thousand seven hundred ISIS prisoners from Syria to Iraq, creating the most integrated and effective regional air defense architecture ever seen which was decades in the making and most recently addressing the rapidly accelerating Iranian threat. US Central Command was created in direct response to the threats posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran and I'm the sixteenth CENTCOM commander to deal with the Iranian problem set for forty-seven years the Iranian regime terrorized the region and made hostility hostility to the United States a core tenet of its The regime is an even more deadly threat to its own people, killing tens of thousands of innocent Iranians during protests in January with public executions ongoing. Iran has long had three pillars of intimidation and coercion. Their nuclear program, their ballistic missiles and drones, and their proxies, especially Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. Let's look at each of these. First, All signs pointed to Iran's intent to create a nuclear weapon capability. And then to protect their nuclear program, Iran built thousands of ballistic missiles and drones, and they did it for two reasons, to create a shield, to make their nuclear site untouchable, and to create an offensive capability so large that regional partners couldn't possibly defend against it. Along the way, their proxies did Iran's dirty work across the region. Prior to the start of epic fury, Iranian-supported terror attack US troops and diplomats more than three hundred and fifty times in the previous two and a half years, killing four US service members and wounding nearly two hundred others. To directly counter this accelerating Iranian strategy that we all saw, the US military was directed by the president to execute two significant operations. And here are the results. First operation Midnight Hammer significantly degraded Iran's nuclear program. And second, Operation Epic Fury significantly degraded Iran's ballistic missiles and drones while destroying ninety percent of their defense industrial base, ensuring that Iran cannot reconstitute for years. And then finally, Iran spent decades and billions of dollars arming proxies. Today, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis are cut off from Iran's weapons supply and support. Said a different way, Amer- American military action derailed Iran's strategy. that was forty-seven years in the making. So where are we now? The cease-fire continues, and consistent with the President's direction, we've established a highly effective maritime blockade of Iran. To date, we've turned away eighty-eight ships. There has been zero trade into Iranian ports and zero trade out of Iranian ports, squeezing Iran economically and creating powerful leverage for the ongoing negotiations. Of course, these results were not without cost. We honor the memories of the fourteen service members who ultimate sacrifice during Operation Epic Fury, and two soldiers and a civilian killed in Palmyra, Syria. They represent the very best among all of us. But before I close, I want to make clear, we are committed to the law of armed conflict. The United States does not target civilians. We take all civilian casualty reports seriously. This is now part of our culture. And I invite each and every one of you, as well as all of your staffs, to visit Tampa and see our targeting process for yourselves. As I sit here, we're clear-eyed, the situation in front of us is complex. High stakes negotiations continue. Our job is to be ready, and we are. I testify today on behalf of the brave servicemen and women deployed to the central region it's a great life honor and privilege to serve as their commander, and thank you and I look forward to your questions.

Thank you, Admiral. General, you're recognized. Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Smith, members of the committee.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide you an update on US Africa command. I'm joined today by Command Sergeant Major Garrick Banfield, AFRICOM Senior Enlisted Leader, and it's an honor for me to be here today with my friend and colleague, Admiral Cooper and the Honorable Dan Zimmerman. We all appreciate your unwavering support to our nation's war fighters. Before I start, I'd like to recognize the service of First Lieutenant Kendrick Lamont Key, Junior and Specialist Mariah Collington, who lost their lives in a tragic accident during African Lion. I would also like to thank our allies and partners, particularly Morocco, who stepped forward when it mattered most. Today, the epicenter of global terrorism is in Africa. ISIS leadership is African. Al-Qaeda's economic engine is in Africa. Both groups share the will and intent to strike our homeland. As the President reported this past Friday, AFRICOM, in close coordination with our Nigerian partners, dealt a significant blow to ISIS' global terror network. Our successful mission eliminated several key ISIS leaders, to include Abu Bilal al-Manouki, the most active and impactful terrorist in the world. He was the ISIS financial and organizational mastermind plotting attacks against the United States and our interests. Manouki's death disrupts ISIS operations around the world, but only sustained pressure and multidimensional approach, with the support of partners, united by mutual security interest, can address this complex problem. As this reach- recent operation demonstrates, AFRICOM is prioritizing willing and capable partners. We support partners with unique capabilities that only the US can provide, such as ISR, targeting, and precision strike. This approach has taken ISIS leaders off the battlefield in Nigeria and driven their leadership in Somalia underground, putting pressure on the broader ISIS network. In West Africa, Al Qaeda affiliate JNM has demonstrated increased capacity to control key terrain in the Sahel, most notably by strangling fuel supplies around population centers. The capture of a capital city would provide Al-Qaeda with all the trappings of a nation-state to sponsor global terrorism. With a seventy-five percent reduction in our regional posture over the past decade, compounded by the drawdown of our allies, we struggle with an intelligence black hole. Without sufficient indicators and warnings, we risk being blind to the gathering dangers and threats of the region. AFRICOM's lack of expeditionary capabilities and forced posture compromises our crisis response. In a crisis we can surge assets, but you cannot surge trust. Our reduced presence on the continent also dis- allows disruptive actors to drive the agenda and undercut American interests. China views Africa as its second continent, securing control over critical minerals and infrastructure, potentially boxing us out of the resources that energize our industrial base. Africa also serves as Putin's purse, where Russia exploits instability to extract resources, including human lives, to fuel its war machine. To contend with these threats, AFRICOM must think and operate differently. With less than one-tenth of one percent of the department's budget, we must maximize every taxpayer dollar to deliver an outsized return on investment. AFRICOM continues to leverage low-cost, high-yield activities to amplify our impact on the continent. International military education and training and the State Partnership Program are reliable force multipliers, forging partnerships with African militaries and demonstrating cost-effective burden sharing. The AFRICOM exercise program is emerging as a battle lab to test and validate new technologies on behalf of both the joint force and our African partners. Finally, Africa sits at the crossroads of global commerce and security, bridging strategic terrain between the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific. It is the world's supplier of critical minerals for advanced defense systems, and home to twelve of the twenty fastest-growing economies. By two thousand fifty, it will account for a third of the global working age population. AFRICOM is increasingly focused on this critical convergence of economy and security and stability. Our efforts span all elements of national power, and we coordinate closely with state, commerce, energy, and treasury. The department's new Economic Defense Unit has been an invaluable partner. To defend the homeland, promote US interest and assure effect effective crisis response. AFRICOM needs targeted investments in layered nontraditional ISR, innovative force protection, programs that enable willing and capable partners, the opportunity to expand experimentation, and the ability to respond to crisis at the time and point of need. Africa is a continent of opportunities, not only crises. With the continued support of this committee, I can assure you that every dollar you authorize for AFRICOM will contribute directly to the security, safety, and prosperity of the United States. Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.

Uh, thank you, General. Thank all our witnesses, uh, for for being here in that in those testimonials. That's very helpful to us. I recognize myself for questions. Admiral Cooper, you have spent the last six years in either senior leader leadership or command positions in the Middle East. In your expert, uh, opinion, was there any time over the last forty years, uh, that Iran or the Iranian regime posed a greater threat threat to United States, Israel, and our allies in the region before midnight hammer and epic fury.

No, sir.

So, uh, are they less capable today than they were before those exercises?

They are significantly less capable today than they were before the two major operations.

And what would a nuclear-armed Iran mean, uh, for our partners in the Middle East and our presence there?

Well, clearly the president has stated Iran will not be nuclear-armed. uh, it would obviously, uh, represent a very highly destabilizing element, uh, into the region and have global impact.

So basically, we're safer, the, our country's safer and our allies in the region are safer because of what our president's done in uh in uh Iran over the last couple of months.

We are unquestionably safer as a result of US military actions.

Thank you. Um, General Anderson, the operation, uh, that eliminated global ISIS second-in-command, uh, over the weekend demonstrated a growing

Uh, Chairman, that's a in- incredibly important point because we cannot operate there and, and respond to these crises or these threats without the access, basing, and overflight that is dependent upon the relationships with these partners. So we are investing a significant amount of effort uh in order to build those relationships and build that credibility. The operation over the weekend built a lot of that credibility of what the US can bring, and that those unique capabilities can be brought to bear in conjunction with our partners. The Nigerians have been instrumental throughout the last several months, uh developing the target, helping us with the intelligence, and providing support in order to do that. So it could not have been done by our own uh forces that we needed to do that in conjunction with them. We are using that to leverage that to engage with other nations such as those in the Sahel, where the terrorist threat continues to grow, to try to open that dialogue so we can address this mutual threat.

Is there anything in particular that this committee could do to be helpful to you in developing partnerships that can uh benefit us in the future?

Uh, yes sir, I think uh some key investments in some of the uh expeditionary capabilities, such as a float forward staging base, expeditionary ISR is critical to that. Uh, support for continued engagement with small teams, such as our special operations teams or small, uh, conventional trainers goes a long way. And then the last one I would say that is not as much in the military realm, but where we see the security convergence and intersection with economics is encouraging investment and development in Africa. That allows, uh, for that stability, uh, to continue to develop because, uh, security depends upon stability, that allows investment, and that leads to prosperity. And that's eventually uh helps protect the United States in the long run. So, uh, while not directly our role, we can help identify those areas where those investments have security implications.

Yeah, well, I I do think it's important when we talk about our role there that we make it clear to the larger uh universe of members of Congress that we do need to be building partnerships in in the African continent and we don't need to be tying that to them changing their cultural values necessarily. we need partnerships, and and whether we like it or not, China and Russia and Iran are all down there building partnerships, and they're not judging these people based on their cultural values. So it's something I think we can learn from. With that, uh, I will yield to the ranking member for any questions he may have.

Uh, thank you. A- Admiral Cooper, you mentioned in your opening remarks the commitment of your command to preventing civilian harm. So just two questions about that. One, it's been eighty days, thereabouts, um since the initial bombing campaign that struck uh the girls' school in Iran. Tehran killed I think over a hundred and fifty school girls. It's really pretty clear what happened there. Uh but eighty days on, we have not taken responsibility for that attack. The endless stalling that's being investigated, it's being investigated, it's being investigated. In the past, when we've had these types of mistakes, they have been quickly acknowledged, even if a further investigation is necessary to figure out prevention methods. So, can you at this moment acknowledge that that mistake was made and that we were responsible for it at something we didn't want to do and don't want to repeat?

Uh, Congressman, to reiterate, the United States does not deliberately target uh civilians,

Got that part.

per- period,

Mm-hmm.

full stop. Uh, and nor are the Iranian people our enemy. Uh, the IRGC is the adversary in this case. The investigation

I heard that in your opening statement, Admiral. I asked you a very specific question and I'm curious what the answer is.

So the investigation is ongoing. Uh, as soon as it is complete, I'm happy to be as many turns as possible.

So that's a no. We will not take responsibility for something we very obviously did.

And w- and what, and w- And what, so it's a, it's a complex investigation. The school itself is located on an active IRGC cruise missile base.

Absolutely.

It's more complex than the average, uh, strike. Uh,

Absolutely.

as soon as we're complete, I'm fully committed to transparency, uh, given your important oversight role in, in the other members here.

Just so you know, Important. and I have an enormous amount of respect for you and enormous amount of respect for the Pentagon. I do not trust that answer. What what we've seen out of this Secretary of Defense and his callous disregard for any sort of rules of engagement or protecting civilian life may make us suspicious. And that's the only second question I have for you. Do you think it's ever appropriate for anybody in a leadership position to use the words " no quarter" when describing how we are conducting our operations in Iran?

Sir, I think it's appropriate as military leaders. We follow the law of armed conflict and our constitutional responsibilities, and that's what we've done.

And you would agree that no quarter is not following the law.

I would agree it's our constitutional responsibility to follow the law.

Is no quarter following the law or not?

I would agree that we follow the law, sir. The the the monikers,

Yeah, but you're not gonna get specific about it.

the monikers and how other people characterize things,

We're just gonna have sort of a general generic understanding of it,

um, I just keep it superscript, sir.

and then do whatever we want to do. with no accountability. Look, people make mistakes. It's in a war. Things happen. I get that, OK? And I'm not gonna be as overly judgmental as some. But that the arrogance of this Pentagon and their unwillingness to acknowledge any mistake is precisely the reason that we are in the hole that we're in with no way out of. Somebody in that command needs to own up to the dumb things that are said and done to give us some confidence that they won't keep happening. Mi- Mister Zimmerman, can you explain to me how it works, why it is considered to be intelligent for the president day after day after day to keep saying that Iran has agreed to things, that very clearly they have not agreed to, which then becomes obvious to the entire world within some twenty-four to forty-eight hour time period. Help me out here. What is the strategy betwe- of the president standing up and saying, we have defeated them, the war is over, they've agreed to everything. I mean, doesn't that just make us look like a bunch of clowns past a certain point when it becomes obvious that that's not the case?

Uh, Congressman, the the president's willingness to act decisively to protect Americans and our partners and allies has advanced US credibility. It has not, it has not sunk US credibility.

Well, but addressing this specific issue, we could have that debate in a different direction, but he has repeatedly said that Iran has agreed to things that they obviously have not agreed to. I mean, let me ask the question this way. Is the president misinformed? Are people doing a bad job of informing him about what's going on? Is he that ignorant about the circumstances? Or is he just making it up as part of some, I don't know, six dimensional stress, uh, sorry, chess strategy here? So, why?

The president has the best information available to to any head of state.

Why does he keep getting it wrong then?

Uh The president does not keep getting it wrong. Uh, the, their, the White House is leading these negotiations to find a long-term solution

I'm sorry,

for the Iran situation.

you have twenty seconds left here, but he doesn't keep getting it wrong. He says, literally, the straight is open. Iran has agreed to give up their nuclear weapons. Iran has agreed to give up their ballistic missile programs. That's your basic question. I- is the straight of horror movies open? Has Iran given up? their nuclear weapons.

The the straightforward moves is a is a complex situation right now, uh, where you have a severely degraded foe.

Look, I hope you look back at this and understand how bad this is making you look. I mean, look, you you can answer the question, now you can challenge me in a thousand different ways. But to just pretend that reality isn't reality and say it over and over again in a public hearing. I'm sorry, that's not helping our credibility. Thank you for the indulgence, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.

Chair now recognizes a gentleman from South Carolina, Mister Wilson.

Thank you, Chairman Mike Rogers, for your correct assessment that the American military is unmatched professionalism as we see with the three witnesses today. How reassuring for the American people and how a deterrence it is to the enemies we have around the world. I've never been more appreciative of the American military than I am today. As a thirty-one year veteran myself, I'm really grateful that I've had four sons, uh serve in Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan, uh to see their success, and dictators are on the run. Uh it began uh with uh uh dictator Assad in Syria, and uh he um actually uh in honor he declared me an enemy of the state, uh November a year ago, and then with President Trump's election he fled to Moscow, uh and now President Trump is giving Syria a chance. The dictator's gone. And then I'm really grateful that the dictatorship in Venezuela has been uh removed. Again, uh what extraordinary success. I was really grateful to have the opportunity to let President Trump know how much uh the American military, American citizens appreciate that he showed that the Russian anti-aircraft capability is not very good, Chinese radar fails, and Cuban mercenaries are expendable. And then you get to the ultimate and it just should not be misunderstood historically. The elimination of Khomeini and his uh his leadership Uh, in world history I'm not aware of any conflict begun where in the first minute, the uh leadership, dictatorship uh was eliminated, and how deserving, because he had just murdered forty thousand of his own citizens, and so he deserved what uh came his way, despite the sympathy of the American media that we should have given notice. With that in mind too, uh I I around the world, from operations in the Western hemisphere against narco-terrorists to decisive action against the Iranian regime, through Operation Epic Fury to the continued efforts against terrorist and malign actors across Africa and the Middle East our service members have demonstrated extraordinary courage, precision, and unmatched professionalism. As we confront Iran and its uh puppets who have attacked and murdered the Israelis and the terrorist organizations in war criminal Putin who wants to resurrect the Soviet Union, the failed Soviet Union. uh annexing Belarus, uh leaving troops in Moldova, uh invading Georgia, uh uh rigging elections in the Republic of Georgia, where the uh correct president, a legitimate president is Solomon George F. Fili, and then of course the invasion of uh Ukraine with uh tens of thousands of people who have lost their lives. With that in mind, the growing growing influence of the Chinese Communist Party, we need to assure that the Central Command and Africa Command have the partnership and capabilities needed to defend the homeland, protect our allies, and achieve peace through strength. With that, Admiral Cooper, you have documented really well the success of opera- operation Epic Fury, which has been a devastating flow to the dictatorship in uh Iran, and ability to murder Israelis and Americans. And your assessment has this degraded Iran's ability to generate another October seventh, was mass murder of Israeli citizens.

Congressman, first, uh, thank you for your own service and and and that of, uh, your children. Uh, we honor them today. I my my assessment from a military perspective is as we sit here today, uh, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis have been cut off from the from the decades-long flow of military supplies, uh, and thus, uh, mitigating and eliminating any chance of a future October seventh, uh, based on the circumstances right now.

I'd I'd just said I agree with your assessment, um and it's just remarkable the achievements of our military. And Secretary Zimmerman, I appreciate your North Carolina heritage and the department has uh promoted partners in both the Middle East and Africa to assume more responsibility for their own security. Uh how are we uh achieving this without creating a vacuum against Walker and Putin or the Chinese Communist Party or the regime in Tehran?

Thank you, Congressman, and as we are working to find operationally independent partners with shared security interests who can responsibly take up uh uh the security burden along alongside us, we are d- we are very clear-eyed about the the threats uh across the CENTCOM and AFRICOM theatre that these that these adversaries present. We have not lost sight of those.

And indeed uh Admiral Cooper We did have allies come to work with us in Operation X Furi. Can you identify key allies that were helpful?

Congressman, most notably, we literally served side-by-side in this broad Middle East air defense network, uh with five Middle Middle East partners, uh UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, uh Hawaii,

Gentlemen, the time has expired,

both,

you're now recognized gentleman from Connecticut,

Gordon and Israel.

uh, Mister Courtney.

Th- thank you, uh, Mister Chairman. Um, and thank you to the witnesses, uh, Mister Zimmerman and Admiral Cooper. Um, in your testimony, uh, Admiral, you s- you in page three stated that, uh, one of the top priorities of CENTCOM is preserving America's advantage and position of strength relative to China. Mister Zimmerman, in page one you said, secondly, we will second, we will deter China in the Indo-Pacific region through strength, not confrontation. So the US Navy, uh, Naval, um, uh, Institute publishes a weekly ship tracker, um, which, uh, identifies where our surface ships are are located around the world today. So uh last night's um tracker shows that there are twenty-five warships uh that are in the centri central command uh region, two more uh mine sweepers are apparently on the way uh to to join the fleet. In Indo-Pacific we have one carrier, uh the George Washington, which is not actually just being fitted out for deployment, it's not actually uh underway with a strike force, and we have one arg mu amphibious ship with three accompanying uh vessels. That's four. That's the total count. That's fifty-two percent of the of the surface of the earth is in the Indo-Pacific region. And because of this war, we have ships that are home ported in Yo- Yo- Kuska, Pearl Harbor, that are now uh situated uh in central command. And I guess the question I have for you, Mister Zimmerman, um the National Defense Strategy states that the US will build and sustain a strong denial of defense along the first island chain. Um, and um, you know, right now, um, I don't know how that's possible, given the fact that uh so many forces, naval forces have been concentrated in command. How is his is this policy, this war, um in in you know, aligned with our national defense strategy which identified China as still the the number one pacing threat?

Uh, Congressman, we rem we remain uh fully committed to the priorities as you have outlined them there, including uh denial of defense uh and deterring China peace.

With what?

Word.

Uh Congressman, we retain the ability to act decisively uh when and where we need to around the globe. That's all part of the global force management process. The Indo-Pacific theater is is not part of my theater, so I'll be careful uh how broadly I I speak, but rest assured,

Thank you. So, Mr. Chairman, I would just ask that the um the USNI uh tracker dated May eighteenth be admitted to the record which again just shows the incredible imbalance

Valid.

that we have right now in terms of um the positioning uh of our fleet. Um I would also note um you know, Mister um Rogers correctly stated that how important it is to build up partnerships. Uh right now, you know, we have a terrible energy crisis in this country, which Mister Smith referred to. Eastern Asia um is of a totally bigger, more catastrophic magnitude. Countries are implementing four day work weeks. They're they're doing uh rationing uh because of the fact that not only is the price is not going up but because they depend on the state of Hormuz, supplies are actually um being run down right now. It is not really hard for people to sort of understand who's causing this, in terms of countries that we are trying to build uh partnerships. And and frankly, I think that is another strategic uh harm that this war has created in terms of, again, the number one identified defense challenge that we face according to Trump's own uh defense strategy. Amal Cooper, I have a a couple quick questions for you. Is is a blockade an act of war?

So we're executing the blockade today, consistent with international armed conflict associated with the last

Well, the the the international law actually in terms of blockades was established in nineteen O nine at the London Naval Conference which the US participated in, and the US Senate actually voted to endorse,

Yeah.

and it defined blockades as an act of war. The blockades don't work unless you have warships there to enforce them. So of course it's an act of war. I mean, and and again that's black letter maritime law, isn't it?

So I'd I'd refer to the department as well as the White House and any characterization of how we uh execute business uh from a combatant command standpoint. I'm from my from my perspective, execute the orders as given, and today the legal uh the the legal uh umbrella that we're uh operating under is International Armed Company.

Well, it's it is really, as I said, not even a question of of of law or facts. I mean, if we had a navy blockading the port of New York and New Jersey, we would treat that as an act of war. And the notion that somehow the the ceasefire stopped the tolling of the War Powers Act, um, in in in April when we put a blockade, uh, a few days later, uh, which is an act of war, um, again fails the the legal test, which you don't need to really get intense advice from Office of Legal Counsel. I yield back.

The gentleman's time has expired. Chair now recognizes Mr. Turner.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. General Anderson. Um, in your opening, uh, sec- portion of your written statement, uh, you say that, uh, AFRICOM, we work with our African partners and our allies on collective security. You then note, um, that, uh, you're facing, uh, more demanding challenges with ISIS, Al Qaeda, but also disruptive actors like Russia, China, and, and Iran. Uh, I want to turn to, uh, Kenya, uh, and Russia. Um, I think you, uh, I believe that, uh, Kenya is a strong ally. You you would agree that Kenya is a strong ally, would you not, General?

Yes, I would.

Um, the, uh, I've I've been to Kenya. I've I've I've seen, uh, and I'm aware of, uh, you know, our collective, uh, operations, and I was very surprised and very concerned when I saw, uh, the New York Times' reporting of Kenya's National Intelligence Service, rep, uh, report that up to a thousand Kenyans had been um um solicited by russia and had been uh taken by russia to fight in ukraine and that they had um uh taken them from kenya and they'd ended up in the front lines of of of ukraine what struck me is is uh not just that there were russians in in um kenya that were operating but that the enormity of what an operation would be to be able to solicit and obtain and get a convince a thousand Kenyans to leave Kenya, go to Russia, end up in Ukraine, uh, fighting, and the the structure, just the logistics of that and, um, the influence campaign that that is. Are you familiar with that report? Could you speak about that? And, and really the, the, the, uh, the necessity of us to be able to counter that work and assist the Kenyans, uh, in countering Russia in Kenya.