Date: 2010-07-27
Speaker: VAN HOLLEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I support President Obamas request to provide our troops with the equipment and support they need for their mission. We also owe it to our troops to have a realistic strategy that is worthy of their sacrifice. The toughest decisions we face as a nation are questions of war and peace. Whenever we ask the men and women of our armed forces to put their lives at risk. the President and Members of Congress have a solemn obligation to consider all the facts and exercise their best judgment for the country. More than 8 years ago. our nation was the target of a terrorist attack launched by al Qaeda operating out of Afghanistan. The United Nations unanimously passed a resolution supporting the right of the United States to respond forcefully to that attack. Our NATO allies universally backed our actions. invoking the provisions of the NATO charter stating that an attack on one was an attack on all. Today. largely because the Bush administration diverted attention and resources away from this region to Iraq. Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda continue to regain strength and plot attacks against Americans from along the AfghanistanPakistan border. The Bush Administration also failed to persuade Pakistan to confront the Afghan Taliban insurgents operating inside Pakistan with the support of al Qaeda. While there is no doubt that al Qaeda operates in parts of Yemen. Sudan. Somalia. and other areas. the AfghanistanPakistan border region remains the operational and ideological center for al Qaedas global operations. The President is right to conclude that allowing al Qaeda to operate there unchecked poses a serious security risk to the U.S. and American citizens around the world. President Obama has developed a carefully considered and comprehensive "counterinsurgency" strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan that relies not only on the use of troops but also the use of civilian resources. The strategy has four parts. First. American and NATO forces will accelerate the training and deployment of the Afghan national security forces. both army and police. This will allow U.S. forces to begin returning home starting in July of next year. Second. in the interim. U.S. and Afghan forces will reverse the Talibans momentum by working to stabilize major population centers. Third. the strategy engages Pakistan as a full partner in these efforts. As a result of better coordination between our two countries. for the first time since the beginning of the war. al Qaeda and the Taliban are being genuinely challenged by the Pakistan military. Finally. the U.S. will work with its partners in Afghanistan and Pakistan to create a more effective civilian strategywith the goal of establishing sustainable economic opportunities for Afghans and strengthening the countrys national and local governance structures. As the 911 Commission determined. extremist groups exploit the poor socioeconomic conditions. such as high unemployment. in the border areas to gain adherents to their cause. With this in mind. I introduced the AfghanistanPakistan Security and Prosperity Enhancement Act. which will allow the President to designate Reconstruction Opportunity Zones. ROZs. in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan and allow qualified businesses dutyfree access to U.S. markets for designated products. This legislation. which has passed the House and is pending in the Senate. would help create meaningful job opportunities for young people who are currently vulnerable to the lure of extremism. The Presidents strategy contains a timeline which initiates a responsible redeployment of American troops in July of next year. He has established this timeline to send a clear message to the Afghan government that they must take seriously their role in creating a stable Afghanistan and to communicate to the people of Afghanistan that the U.S. has no interest in an openended engagement in their country. During floor consideration of the House bill. I supported the McGovern/Obey Amendment. which would codify the presidents plan to initiate a responsible drawdown of U.S. forces beginning a year from now. That amendment required that by April 4. 2011. the president submit to Congress a redeployment plan that is consistent with the policy he announced in December 2009. That amendment did not pass and the Senate bill did not contain a similar amendment. The choice we face today is to cut off all funds for our troops in the field and operations in Afghanistan or support President Obamas request to provide the resources necessary to support the strategy outlined in his speech of December 2009. I oppose the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan for two reasons. First. it would immediately strengthen the hand of the most extremist Taliban leaders (those most closely tied to al Qaeda). undercutting any leverage behind ongoing efforts to get some Taliban fighters to lay down their arms and undermining Afghan President Hamid Karzais new initiative to reach a political accommodation with those members of the Taliban open to national reconciliation. If such a political solution is undermined and the old Taliban regime retakes control of Afghanistan. they will again turn that country into a safe haven for expanded al Qaeda operations. It would also lead to the return of an extreme Taliban regime that encourages horrendous acts like pouring gasoline into the eyes of girls who attempt to go to school. Second. the immediate withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces would weaken Pakistans resolve to confront the Pakistani Taliban. the Afghan Taliban. and al Qaeda. The most promising development over the last year has been the Government of Pakistans willingness to fight the growing menace of the Pakistani Taliban. In addition. very recently. the Pakistani government has also shown a willingness to confront elements of the Afghan Taliban. The capture of Mullah Bandar. the operational chief of the Afghan Taliban. and two Afghan Taliban shadow governors. demonstrates this progress. The withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan would sabotage those nascent efforts. Why should the Pakistani forces confront the Afghan Taliban if the U.S. walks away now? There are no guarantees of success in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But. we do know that failure to confront al Qaeda would leave Americans constantly exposed to another attack like that perpetrated on September 11. 2001. Madam Speaker. I support adoption of the FY 10 Supplemental Appropriations bill.