Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy said the State Department would be ready to take over operations in Iraq following the U.S. military’s withdrawal on December 31, but that cuts in the department’s budget would “severely affect” this transition. He made these remarks at a House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee hearing.
Other witnesses included Stuart Bowen, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction and members of the Commission of Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The subcommittee is chaired by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who recently returned from a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, where he visited U.S. troops.