House panel to begin Afghanistan hearings

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- The House Committee on International Relations will hold hearings Thursday on U.S. policy in Afghanistan.

A classified, closed-door CIA briefing was to immediately precede the public hearing.

Witnesses were expected to include William Taylor Jr., the State Department's coordinator for Afghanistan; Peter Rodman, assistant secretary for international security affairs in the Department of Defense; and James Kunder, deputy assistant administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Committee representatives said they want to determine, among other things, what progress has been made on the implementation of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002, how secure is the United States' military victory in Afghanistan and whether the peace is sustainable under current U.S. strategies and policies.