For Immediate Release: Monday, February 01, 2010
Contact: Oversight and Government Reform Committee Press Office, (202) 225-5051

Chairman Towns Issues Final Request for Afghan Military and Police Documents

Chairman may issue subpoena for documents key to Committee’s investigation into CSTC-A

WASHINGTON – After repeated, unsuccessful efforts to secure all contracts and contract documents from the Department of Defense (DoD) related to training the Afghan military and police, Chairman Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY) issued a final request letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that asks the Department to fulfill the request in order to avoid a subpoena.

Chairman Towns announced last month that the Committee is conducting an investigation into the Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan (CSTC-A), a joint force under U.S Central Command that is managing approximately $15 billion in U.S. programs supporting the effort to develop Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF).

Chairman Towns wrote, “the CSTC-A contracts have important implications for our nation’s success in Afghanistan, and relate to a broader issue of poor oversight over military contracts in Afghanistan.  Thus, I will not sit idly by while the DoD drags its feet and refuses to provide this Committee information that is essential to protecting the interests of the American people.”

As part of this investigation, on December 1, 2009, Chairman Towns sent a letter DoD requesting all contracts and contract documents related to training the Afghan military and police, as well as a full briefing on these issues.  More than a month later, Chairman Towns again made the same request of DoD since the Department had not fulfilled any of the request.

Although the Committee received a letter from DoD on January 12, 2010, stating that it is in the process of collecting the documents, DoD has not indicated when the Committee will be receiving these documents.

“I urge you to cooperate with this request in order to avoid a subpoena and any subsequent confrontation,” added Chairman Towns.Chairman Towns asks Secretary Gates to submit the requested information by Friday, February 5, 2010.

###

Documents and Links

---

Letter from Chairman Edolphus Towns to Secretary Robert Gates