I think there is--if we know that people want to become more successful economically, when we go in and do major infrastructure development--and that was the impetus behind BUILD Act, so that we could develop infrastructures that would…

Yet they control more land in Afghanistan today than they did before we went into Afghanistan.

it pains me that we are negotiating with the Taliban after what, 18 years and billions or trillions of dollars.

If I look at the history that has been learned or the lessons that have been learned from Afghanistan, we moved into a country that we did not understand.

If we build a stable government we can progress into these things and think a lot quicker.

We moved into a country that we did not understand. We did not understand the tribal nature of a country and we tried to instill a democracy.

I think we should adapt our strategy and policies to fulfill the needs of a country and develop a stable government.

if people do not understand a democracy, I think they would understand a stable government.

In 2017, the Trump administration announced their Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy which restructured the typical Asia Pacific approach and emphasized the importance of this region to the U.S. and our national security.

I would like to focus this hearing on how U.S. expenditures support the health of U.S.-Asia's democratic institutions, increase economic development, and address security concerns while best serving U.S. interests.

We have also seen the continued proliferation of human rights abuses and acts of radical terrorism.