Contact: Josh Holly; 202.226.3988
Opening Statement of Congressman Todd Akin
Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee Hearing on the Role of the Department of Defense in Provincial Reconstruction Teams
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO), senior Republican on the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations, today released the following opening statement for the subcommittee’s hearing on the Department of Defense’s (DOD) role in Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) in Iraq and Afghanistan:
“Today’s hearing is this subcommittee’s second public hearing on the role of the Department of Defense in Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“A PRT is an interagency team, comprised of civilian and military personnel employed in or with the mission of extending the reach of the government into regional provinces and local areas. As I understand it, Afghan PRTs focus on classic development projects, such as improving road networks, adding to the supply of electricity or water, and building schools and clinics. PRTs in Iraq, by contrast, place a stronger emphasis on capacity building rather than reconstruction. Capacity building is defined as mentoring and training in good governance with the emphasis on building and growing local and provincial government. I’d like to learn more from our witnesses about how the PRTs are advancing the development and maturation of local governance.
“A lot of people around here think that problems in Iraq need to be solved in Baghdad or in Washington, D.C. My view is that the solution rests in the local provinces, with local people putting the solutions together and solving their problems. If we take a look at how the United States was built, it is clear it wasn't built by starting in Washington, D.C. Our country was built by little towns and communities coming together—13 states and all. So, I’m not surprised that it appears our greater successes are happening at the local level in Iraq.
“As I’ve stated previously, PRTs, and the subject of stabilization operations generally, is critical to transitioning a local area from a combat zone to a business development zone or a quiet residential neighborhood. In my view, sufficient troop strength combined with increasing the number of PRTs has had a significant, positive affect on building local communities.
“Another aspect of the PRTs which I’m interested in is the interagency composition of the teams. We often hear that Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom require ‘all elements of national power’, though I think it’s been the exception—not the rule—when this has happened. We’ve heard from former PRT members how PRTs operate on the ground and how interagency issues are resolved in theatre. I’m curious how the interagency in Washington works to support the PRTs. In particular, I’d like our witnesses to comment on the Department’s role in shaping PRT policy and resolving PRT issues in the daily Afghanistan Operations Group meetings and in the weekly Iraq Steering Group meetings.
“Finally, I’d like to understand how the Department’s implementation of DOD Directive 3000.05—Military Support for Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction (SSTR) Operations—informs and is informed by DOD’s work on PRTs. It seems to me that PRTs are the best, tangible example of a stabilization operation that the SSTR Directive contemplates. I’d like our witnesses to explain how the Department’s policy arm is connecting the directive to the PRTs.”
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