The House Armed Services Committee Has Spoken --- The actual bill that was passed is over 200 pages long, and that's without the appendix and funding tables included at the end of the legislation. There was no way I was going to read the entire bill with all its legalese, but thankfully Chairman Buck McKeon and his staff were generous enough to provide the public with a thorough summary in plain English. And, glancing at the summary, there are a few interesting tidbits that are worthy of pointing out. --- 2. Support For A Post-2014 U.S. Presence In Afghanistan: Amid news that the Obama administration is beginning to consider fewer U.S. troops in Afghanistan after the 2014 NATO mission ends -- some administration officials have been considered the withdrawal of all troops from the country after that date -- HASC members felt that they needed to put themselves on the record. Section 1217 of the bill expresses the sense of Congress that retaining a U.S. military presence in Afghanistan after December 31, 2014 is critical to meeting U.S. national security objectives in the country. And the committee also wants President Obama to be a far more active Commander-in-Chief on this issue: "The President," the bill reads, "should announce the United States residual presence for Operation Resolute Support to reassure the people of Afghanistan and to provide a tangible statement of support for the future of Afghanistan." The White House, as you might expect, has not made that announcement yet. --- 3. Support For Forward Deployment Of U.S. Forces In the Middle East: "It is the sense of Congress," the bill states, "that the United States should maintain a robust forward presence and posture in order to support United States allies and partners in the Arabian Gulf region, including Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Israel, and to deter Iran." Despite negotiations with the Iranians over its nuclear program, Congress remains highly concerned that Tehran is a destabilizing and dangerous actor in the region that deserves a strong U.S. response. But there is also a subtler message that the committee is sending to President Obama: even if Iran signs a nuclear agreement with the P5+1 negotiating team, Washington cannot afford to let down their guard. --- 3. Support For Forward Deployment Of U.S. Forces In the Middle East: "It is the sense of Congress," the bill states, "that the United States should maintain a robust forward presence and posture in order to support United States allies and partners in the Arabian Gulf region, including Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Israel, and to deter Iran." Despite negotiations with the Iranians over its nuclear program, Congress remains highly concerned that Tehran is a destabilizing and dangerous actor in the region that deserves a strong U.S. response. But there is also a subtler message that the committee is sending to President Obama: even if Iran signs a nuclear agreement with the P5+1 negotiating team, Washington cannot afford to let down their guard. --- 4. Russia Is An Adversary: Committee members are tough on Russia. According to the language, no funds made available through the 2015 NDA can be expended to promote U.S.-Russia military contact or cooperation unless the Secretary of Defense can certify to Congress that Moscow has met a series of requirements: That Russia has withdrawn troops from Ukrainian territory, that Russia is respecting Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and that Russia is complying with missile defense and arms treaties that they have signed. Combined with the Obama administration's incremental sanctions on Russian individuals and entities, this no-contact clause will have the desired effect of further punishing Moscow for its activities in Eastern Europe and depriving the Russian military from benefiting from the world's most powerful military force. -- Fortunately, the committee had the fortitude to provide one exception to this clause: contact is allowed if that contact supports U.S. operations overseas. This means that the U.S. military will still be able to rely on the Northern Distribution Network as a transport and transit route to and from Afghanistan. - More, Huffingtonpost, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-r-depetris/the-house-armed-services-_b_5317939.html?utm_hp_ref=afghanistan