[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 34 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 34

 Calling for the strengthening of the efforts of the United States to 
       defeat the Taliban and terrorist networks in Afghanistan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 18, 2007

   Mr. Kerry (for himself and Mr. Feingold) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Calling for the strengthening of the efforts of the United States to 
       defeat the Taliban and terrorist networks in Afghanistan.

Whereas global terrorist networks, including the al Qaeda organization that 
        attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, continue to threaten 
        the security of the United States and are recruiting new members and 
        developing the capability and plans to attack the United States and its 
        allies throughout the world;
Whereas a democratic, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan is a vital security 
        interest of the United States;
Whereas stability in Afghanistan is being threatened by antigovernment and 
        Taliban forces that seek to disrupt political and economic developments 
        throughout the country;
Whereas Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leaders of al Qaeda, are 
        still at large and are reportedly hiding somewhere in the Afghanistan-
        Pakistan border region;
Whereas, according to United States military intelligence officials--

    (1) Taliban attacks on United States, allied, and Afghan forces 
increased from 1,558 in 2005 to 4,542 in 2006;

    (2) suicide bomb attacks in Afghanistan increased from 27 in 2005 to 
139 in 2006;

    (3) roadside bomb attacks more than doubled from 783 in 2005 to 1,677 
in 2006; and

    (4) crossborder attacks from Pakistan into Afghanistan have increased 
by 300 percent since September 2006;

Whereas, on September 2, 2006, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 
        reported that in 2006 opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan increased 
        59 percent over 2005 levels and reached a record high;
Whereas the President's current request for United States economic assistance to 
        Afghanistan for fiscal year 2007 is approximately 33 percent of the 
        amount appropriated for fiscal year 2006;
Whereas only 50 percent of the money pledged by the international community for 
        Afghanistan between 2002 and 2005 has actually been delivered;
Whereas, on September 12, 2006, the Secretary of State said, ``[A]n Afghanistan 
        that does not complete its democratic evolution and become a stable, 
        terrorist-fighting state is going to come back to haunt us. . . . [I]t 
        will come back to haunt our successors and their successors.'' and ``If 
        we should have learned anything, it is if you allow that kind of vacuum, 
        if you allow a failed state in that strategic a location, you're going 
        to pay for it.'';
Whereas the bipartisan Iraq Study Group Report concluded, ``If the Taliban were 
        to control more of Afghanistan, it could provide al Qaeda the political 
        space to conduct terrorist operations. This development would 
        destabilize the region and have national security implications for the 
        United States and other countries around the world.'';
Whereas the Iraq Study Group Report recommended that the President provide 
        additional political, economic, and military support for Afghanistan, 
        including resources that might become available as combat forces are 
        redeployed from Iraq;
Whereas the Iraq Study Group Report specifically recommended that the United 
        States meet the request of General James Jones, then United States North 
        Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) commander, for more troops to combat 
        the resurgence of al Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan;
Whereas, on October 8, 2006, General David Richards, NATO's top commander in 
        Afghanistan, warned that a majority of Afghans would likely switch their 
        allegiance to resurgent Taliban militants if their lives showed no 
        visible improvements in the next 6 months;
Whereas, on January 6, 2007, Army Brigadier General Anthony J. Tata stated that 
        the shortage of troops in Afghanistan could create a ``strategic high 
        risk, a strategic threat'' to the United States and ``an operational 
        threat'' to the elected government of Hamid Karzai;
Whereas, on January 15, 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates stated that 
        there were ``indications that the Taliban were planning a large spring 
        offensive'' against United States troops and NATO forces;
Whereas, on January 16, 2007, Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, the senior 
        United States commander in Afghanistan, asked to extend the deployment 
        of a United States battalion in Afghanistan that was scheduled to be 
        redeployed to Iraq;
Whereas, on January 17, 2007, General David Richards stated that unmet pledges 
        of troops and equipment from NATO countries have left him 10 to 15 
        percent short of the forces he requires, saying, ``Clearly, there is a 
        need to fulfill those commitments.'';
Whereas, on January 17, 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates stated that 
        United States military commanders in Afghanistan have requested 
        additional United States troops for Afghanistan, and stated that he was 
        ``sympathetic'' to this request;
Whereas the United States currently has approximately 21,000 troops in 
        Afghanistan, approximately \1/7\ of the number of United States troops 
        currently deployed to Iraq;
Whereas the President of the United States has announced plans to send 
        approximately 21,500 additional United States troops to Iraq; and
Whereas if the United States does not strengthen efforts to defeat the Taliban 
        and to create long-term stability in Afghanistan, Afghanistan will 
        become what it was before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a 
        haven for those who seek to harm the United States and a source of 
        instability that threatens the security of the United States: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the United States must strengthen its commitment to 
        establishing long-term stability and peace in Afghanistan;
            (2) the President should not reduce the total number of 
        United States troops serving in Afghanistan in order to 
        increase the total number of United States troops serving in 
        Iraq;
            (3) the United States, in partnership with the 
        International Security Assistance Force and the Government of 
        Afghanistan, should immediately increase its efforts to 
        eradicate the Taliban, terrorist organizations, and criminal 
        networks currently operating in Afghanistan, including by 
        increasing United States military personnel as requested by 
        United States military commanders in Afghanistan;
            (4) the United States, in support of the Government of 
        Afghanistan, should significantly increase the amount of 
        economic assistance available in Afghanistan for 
        reconstruction, social and economic development, 
        counternarcotics efforts, and democracy promotion activities; 
        and
            (5) the United States should work aggressively to encourage 
        members of the international community to deliver on the 
        financial pledges they have made to support development and 
        reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.
                                 <all>