[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1769 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1769

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that in order to 
  undermine the Taliban and their terrorist allies, the policy of the 
 United States should support the recognition of Afghanistan's ethnic 
  diversity, promoting mutual respect between various communities and 
 regions of the country and bringing democracy closer to the people of 
  Afghanistan by supporting constitutional change that recognizes and 
 enables a democratic, decentralized, federal structure to replace the 
present failed centralized system of government, providing a political 
 structure that reflects the diversity of the country and that builds 
        trust and goodwill among Afghanistan's many communities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 15, 2010

   Mr. Rohrabacher (for himself and Mr. King of Iowa) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that in order to 
  undermine the Taliban and their terrorist allies, the policy of the 
 United States should support the recognition of Afghanistan's ethnic 
  diversity, promoting mutual respect between various communities and 
 regions of the country and bringing democracy closer to the people of 
  Afghanistan by supporting constitutional change that recognizes and 
 enables a democratic, decentralized, federal structure to replace the 
present failed centralized system of government, providing a political 
 structure that reflects the diversity of the country and that builds 
        trust and goodwill among Afghanistan's many communities.

Whereas Afghanistan is a diverse country of minorities, including Pashtuns, 
        Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, Turkmens, Aimaq, Baluch, and Nuristani;
Whereas decades of civil war and more than a century of repression and 
        discrimination in Afghanistan has resulted in distrust, fear, and 
        extremism;
Whereas supporting highly centralized political structures in Afghanistan has 
        led to widespread abuse, discrimination, corruption, and lack of local 
        participation and support;
Whereas the Taliban, aligned with al Qaeda, during their reign of terror in 
        Afghanistan intensified policies of ethnic retribution and 
        discrimination particularly against the peoples of northern Afghanistan;
Whereas the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies viewed ethnic diversity and 
        political pluralism as the greatest threat to their political domination 
        and extremist beliefs;
Whereas the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies used highly centralized 
        governmental structures in Kabul to collectively punish Afghanistan's 
        diverse ethnic communities, enforcing policies of ethnic discrimination 
        and retribution;
Whereas the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies, after having brutally repressed 
        Afghanistan's diverse cultures and peoples, particularly the non-Pashtun 
        peoples, launched a global terrorist war aimed particularly at the 
        United States, leading to the attacks on September 11, 2001;
Whereas the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies were defeated by an alliance of 
        the northern peoples of Afghanistan, mostly Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazaras 
        fighting for their freedom and supported by a small number of United 
        States Special Forces and directed air attacks by the United States Air 
        Force;
Whereas the defeat of the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies in northern 
        Afghanistan led to the collapse of the terrorist Taliban regime and the 
        end to Taliban and al Qaeda repression and terrorism;
Whereas in defeating the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies, thousands of brave 
        fighters from northern Afghanistan were killed but only one United 
        States citizen lost his life in the North, demonstrating that the people 
        of Afghanistan were willing and able to fight the Taliban and al Qaeda 
        when they were fighting for their families, homes, and freedom;
Whereas the vital role of Afghanistan's diverse ethnic communities in defeating 
        extremism and establishing a stable Afghanistan free of ethnic prejudice 
        was ignored by the international community, which instead insisted on a 
        highly centralized and personalized form of government, repeating the 
        mistakes of the past;
Whereas western support for a flawed constitutional process which concentrated 
        power in the hands of the President including the direct appointment 
        without confirmation or consultation of all local, district, and 
        provincial officials, including mayors, governors, and police chiefs, 
        rejecting the basic democratic principle of local communities electing 
        their own leaders;
Whereas by supporting a highly centralized government in Kabul, the mistakes of 
        the past have been repeated, including during the Communist and 
        nationalist periods, leading to massive corruption, abuse of power, 
        ethnic discrimination, and the disconnection and alienation of the 
        people of Afghanistan from their government; and
Whereas nine years of efforts to build a national police force and national 
        military to protect Afghanistan have fallen victim to a failed 
        centralized political system and the widespread corruption and cronyism 
        it engenders, resulting in involvement of ever more United States and 
        North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ground forces and financial 
        resources, from no more than 5,000 troops eight years ago to 150,000 
        troops today: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the United States Government should--
                    (A) engage in broadening the regional dialogue on 
                Afghanistan to include countries that have been 
                supportive of the United States effort to defeat the 
                Taliban such as India, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, 
                and Turkmenistan;
                    (B) support and encourage a democratic 
                decentralized federal political system in Afghanistan 
                that shifts more power to regions, provinces, and 
                districts, recognizes Afghanistan's ethnic regional and 
                cultural diversity and promotes mutual respect, trust, 
                and goodwill between the various ethnic communities and 
                regions of the country;
                    (C) support urgent constitutional reform that will 
                enable local, district, and provincial election of 
                mayors, police chiefs, and governors which would bring 
                democracy closer to the people of Afghanistan and 
                encourage trust between Afghanistan's different ethnic 
                groups;
                    (D) support the establishment of trained and 
                properly regulated regional militias as well as a 
                national army to fight the Taliban insurgency, 
                particularly utilizing the natural allies of the United 
                States who helped defeat the Taliban in 2001 in order 
                to enable the reduction of the number of United States 
                troops;
                    (E) undermine the extremism of the Taliban and 
                their al Qaeda allies and their insurgency by drawing 
                the people of Afghanistan back into the fight by 
                supporting a government that truly represents them; and
                    (F) actively oppose the inclusion of the Taliban in 
                the Government of Afghanistan; and
            (2) the United States should abandon its support for the 
        present failed centralized system of government that has led to 
        enormous corruption, the abuse of power, the growing drug 
        trade, ethnic domination which has enabled extremism, and a 
        growing insurgency to take root again and require enormous, 
        decades more commitment in troops and treasure.
                                 <all>