Meijer, Crow Introduce Bill to Improve Intelligence Community Analysis of Foreign Countries’ Will to Fight

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Peter Meijer (R-MI) joined Representative Jason Crow (D-CO) in introducing the Will to Fight Act of 2022, a bill to strengthen how the intelligence community (IC) analyzes the national and military will to fight of foreign countries and militaries. This bill focuses on the governments and armed forces of Ukraine in 2022, Afghanistan in 2021, and Iraq in 2014, and each country’s will to fight at each specific juncture. The review of these cases will include an examination of previous procedures and a determination of lessons learned, which will allow the IC to better provide early warnings and better inform policy decisions. This bill was recently included in the FY23 Intelligence Authorization Act, which unanimously passed out of committee.

“Our intelligence community is a critical asset for the United States government in our mission to protect Americans, secure the homeland from threats, and conduct a foreign policy that advances U.S. interests,” said Rep. Meijer. “Twice in the last year, however, policymakers in Washington have been caught unprepared when predicted outcomes in Afghanistan and Ukraine differed dramatically from realities on the ground. The will to fight and commitment to a cause are some of the intangibles that can ultimately decide the outcomes of war. I am proud to join Representative Crow in leading this effort to improve the intelligence community’s capacity to predict and measure those intangibles, making us better prepared to respond to future crises with sound policy decisions.”

“As an Army Ranger in Iraq and Afghanistan, I learned that America is most safe and secure when we work with our partners and allies and those relationships are essential for our mission success,” said Rep. Crow. “But investments in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places have shown that we must do a better job assessing the capabilities and resolve of some of our partner forces. I’m proud to work with Rep. Meijer to better equip our intelligence agencies with the tools needed to more effectively assess the capabilities and will to fight of our partners and international forces.”

The full text of the legislation can be found here.

Background:

According to the RAND Corporation, the IC estimated the Afghan government’s forces could hold out against the Taliban for as long as two years if all ground forces of the United States were withdrawn. The estimate was revised in June 2021 to reflect a view that the military collapse could come in 6-12 months. One year ago, in August 2021, the Afghan government forces fell within days after the U.S. ground forces were withdrawn.

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