[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 159 (Friday, November 16, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2124-E2125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE NEXT PHASE OF THE WAR ON TERRORISM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 16, 2001

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member wishes to commend to his 
colleagues the November 15, 2001, editorial from the Lincoln Journal-
Star entitled ``Importance of peacekeeping is now clearer.'' The 
editorial rightly endorses continued U.S. engagement in Afghanistan as 
the Taliban quickly retreats, encourages the construction of a multi-
ethnic administrative structure in Afghanistan, and accurately 
recognizes the complexities of these endeavors.

               IMPORTANCE OF PEACEKEEPING IS NOW CLEARER

       The sudden urgency to set up a provisional government in 
     Afghanistan shows the need for Americans to support the use 
     of American forces in peacekeeping roles.
       That support has been granted grudgingly in the past in 
     places such as Bosnia and Kosovo, with plenty of detractors 
     yapping that American lives should not be put at stake unless 
     America's strategic interests faced imminent threat.
       That argument is no longer convincing in the wake of Sept. 
     11. It's now apparent that Americans no longer can blithely 
     assume that it doesn't matter what happens in poor, obscure, 
     violence-wracked countries halfway around the globe. The 
     world is now so interconnected by air travel, the Internet 
     and satellite communication that isolation is no longer a 
     realistic option.
       There are limits, naturally, on how often the United States 
     can take on a peacekeeping role and how large that role 
     should be. But when it comes to Afghanistan, there really 
     should be no argument. Keeping the peace in Afghanistan would 
     be a formidable undertaking in any circumstances. Under

[[Page E2125]]

     the existing circumstances it will be even more difficult. 
     The startling retreat of the Taliban from Kabul complicates 
     matters for the United States and the rest of its coalition. 
     It has not yet destroyed al-Qaeda. It has not yet captured or 
     killed Osama bin Laden. Now it faces additional 
     responsibilities during formation of a provisional government 
     to fill the vacuum left by the retreating Taliban.
       As quickly as possible the United Nations should send in 
     international experts--the work probably will require 
     thousands--to set up some sort of administrative structure 
     for the portion of the country now outside control of the 
     Taliban. It is crucial that the administrative structure 
     include the eventual participation of all the country's 
     ethnic groups, including the Tajik, Hazara and Uzbek tribes 
     in the Northern Alliance, as well as the Pashtun ethnic group 
     in the south, which is represented only minimally in the 
     alliance.
       As complex as that undertaking will be, the task of 
     assembling an international peacekeeping force will be even 
     more difficult. Preferably the force would include troops 
     from Muslim countries such as Turkey, which has a reasonably 
     well-trained military. American military forces still will be 
     preoccupied by the search for bin Laden and al-Qaeda members, 
     but the United States should not shirk peacekeeping duties, 
     particularly in providing logistical support.
       And Americans should be willing to continue in supporting 
     roles in the peacekeeping effort long after bin Laden is 
     killed or captured and the al-Qaeda network has been smoked 
     out. America's strategic interests must now be defined more 
     broadly and perceptively than in the past.