Defense and State officials appear before The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday to update lawmakers on the proliferation of improvised explosive devices (IED) by terrorist networks in Pakistan.
Gen. Michael Barbero, director of the Defense Department's IED Defeat Organization, will talk about his group and its mission and discuss the challenges of combating IED threats in Afghanistan, where he has said IEDs are the weapon of choice.
Other topics will include the U.S. partnership with Pakistan on combating IEDs, working with the fertilizer and defense industries, and combating sea and air-based IEDs.
Jonathan Carpenter, senior economic adviser in the State Department's Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, will also testify.