I would like to join the Chairman in welcoming our witnesses and thanking them for appearing here today to discuss these important and timely issues.

The NATO alliance and our partners are confronted by a security landscape that has undergone drastic changes in recent years.  NATO faces multiple threats to regional stability, including ongoing Russian provocations in the east which flout international norms, the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and North Africa which continue to destabilize the region and have driven a historic number of refugees to flee into NATO countries, and the prospect that radicalized citizens of NATO countries may export their battlefield training from these conflicts back to their home countries.  In addition, there are challenges beyond the military domain, in areas such as economic stability, and cyber and energy security.

When the NATO summit begins in Warsaw tomorrow, all of these issues will be discussed at length.  Two years ago at the Wales summit, members agreed to several important steps in an effort to recalibrate the alliance with the new security environment.  They approved a Readiness Action Plan to enhance the alliance’s ability to respond quickly to security challenges.  They affirmed defense spending commitments of 2 percent of GDP and agreed that it is not enough just to increase spending – investments must also be focused on strategic capabilities that strengthen the alliance.  In Warsaw, expected announcements include enhanced forward presence to the east, the declaration of cyber as a “domain”, and the affirmation of NATO allies and partners’ long-term commitment to Afghanistan. 

On that last point, I support the President’s decision to retain approximately 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan into 2017 to continue training, advising, and assisting the Afghan Security Forces and conducting counterterrorism operations.  Yesterday’s announcement comes at an important time in this year’s fighting season, takes into account the advice of the commanders on the ground, and gives clarity to our NATO allies as their own contributions are discussed at Warsaw this week.

The issue of deterrence, and what constitutes an effective deterrence will also be discussed.  Included in this year’s Senate-passed Nation Defense Authorization bill is $3.4 billion for the European Reassurance Initiative, a four-fold increase over last year’s funding.  This funding is intended to enhance the U.S. military presence and activities in Europe and focus U.S. efforts more intently on deterrence measures.  In addition, NATO will announce the deployment of four battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to enhance forward presence.  As both of these initiatives move forward it will be essential to ensure that they are integrated so that deterrence measures are amplified and not simply duplicated.  I will be interested to hear our panelists’ views on how best to undertake those integration efforts.

Thank you again to our panelists for their willingness to appear this morning.  I look forward to your testimony on these and other security challenges facing NATO and Europe.