the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing to define the direction in which NATO must grow in the future. In his prepared testimony, key witness Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried, addressed NATO's role in Afghanistan. “Combined NATO and Afghan forces will bring a stronger defense against the growing Taliban offensive. NATO and Afghan forces have increasingly denied the Taliban safe haven in Afghanistan, and have also linked military operations with reconstruction efforts to help the civilian population. They will provide a "comprehensive approach" in Afghanistan, where soldiers and reconstruction experts work together. This shows how NATO is likely to operate in the coming decades,” he said.
