David Samuel Sedney, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia, and Brigadier General John W. Nicholson, Jr., director, Pakistan Afghanistan coordination cell, the Joint Staff, testimony, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “The Meaning of Marjah: Developments in Security and Stability in Afghanistan,” May 6, 2010:
“Partnering and improvements in Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF) training are accelerating ANSF growth and improving the quality of the force, with an emphasis on creating a force that is both effective and sustainable. Equally important has been the drastically expanded and overhauled civilian effort. Today there are more than three times the number of U.S. direct hire civilians in Afghanistan than there were a year ago, and over four times more civilian personnel deployed alongside our military personnel … outside of Kabul. … Our military and civilian missions are integrated, and our military personnel depend upon their civilian counterparts to help stabilize and rebuild after the fight. …
“None of these steps will guarantee success. … None of what we are doing in Afghanistan involves quick fixes. These are long-term problems, and their solutions will require both patience and flexibility. At this point, though, we are cautiously optimistic. … [W]e believe we finally have the right mission, the right strategy, the right leadership, and the right resources. As we move forward, we will continue to adjust—and we believe that we will continue to make progress.”
