[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 17 (Wednesday, February 11, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H485-H486]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          LESSONS LEARNED FROM MY TRIP TO IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) is recognized for 5 minutes.

[[Page H486]]

  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my reflections on a 
trip I recently took with the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), 
leader, and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes) to Iraq and 
Afghanistan. I think it is important to publicly discuss the situation 
in those countries because events there have implications for all of us 
here in our country, as well as for the future of our foreign policy.
  We are less than 5 months from the planned transfer of sovereignty to 
a new Iraqi government. Yet it seems clear from talking to many groups 
in Iraq that the administration's proposed deadline for the transfer of 
power is unrealistic. Commanders we talked to indicated it would be 
logistically difficult, if not impossible, to conduct an election 
before July 1. There is no census. There are no registered voters. The 
likelihood of fraud would be great, and I think there is a strong 
likelihood that the United Nations representatives now in Iraq will 
reach the same conclusions. By the same token, Shia religious leaders 
in Iraq do not support the caucus system for choosing a new government 
that the administration has advocated.
  Finally, I do not think we can transfer sovereignty to a new Iraqi 
government until the rules of engagement for our forces are agreed 
upon. We simply cannot afford to have restrictions on the ability of 
our forces to pursue terrorists and to protect themselves.
  Simply put, we must handle the transition right, even if it means 
rethinking our original timeline. The outcome must be a government with 
legitimacy, a process that prevents civil war from erupting, and rules 
of engagement that leave our forces free to continue to fight against 
the insurgents.
  A second related conclusion from my trip is that it is clear that 
whatever new government assumes power must not be seen as a puppet of 
the United States Government or it will lack legitimacy. One way to 
help build that legitimacy is to get NATO involved in helping to 
establish security and provide stability in Iraq, as they are already 
doing constructively in Afghanistan. NATO involvement will reinforce 
the perception that it is the international community, not just the 
United States, that wants a new representative government in Iraq to 
succeed. Bringing NATO troops to Iraq to supplement our forces will 
also likely reduce the number of American military casualties, 
something I know we are all concerned about.
  My third conclusion about Iraq is that we are in a guerilla war 
there. It is not really terrorism because I do not think the attacks 
against Iraqi citizens and our forces are aimed just at terrorism. 
Their purpose is to prevent the installation of a new, stable regime 
and to expel our forces, a classic goal of guerrilla warfare.

                              {time}  1730

  I also want to mention Afghanistan. The simple truth is we are 
shortchanging our effort to establish a viable Federal government and 
rebuild the country of Afghanistan. I understand that, on the face of 
it, Afghanistan is not as strategically as important as Iraq, but our 
efforts there are critical.
  Mr. Bin Laden and other leaders of al Qaeda and the leadership of the 
former Taliban regime remain at large. In the near term, the United 
States must bring renewed attention to our offensive operations there 
to flush those forces out. Over the long term, we need to ensure that a 
terrorist harboring the regime never again gains hold. If we poured 
half as many people and resources into Afghanistan as we have into 
Iraq, I think that country would be well on the way to recovering from 
the 20-plus years of warfare that have plagued that country.
  With few natural resources, little infrastructure, and a long history 
of tribalism, Afghanistan has a long way to go. I do not think we are 
making progress as fast as we need to in order for the Karzai 
government to survive in the long term. Simply put, we need to do more 
in Afghanistan.
  My final observation concerns our great men and women in uniform. 
They are doing a fantastic job under the most trying circumstances. 
They are living under the most arduous of conditions, and are literally 
putting their lives on the line every day. They are superbly trained, 
superbly led, and they are the finest force the world and our country 
have ever seen. We owe them a deep debt of gratitude. As we go into 
this budget cycle, we owe it to them to provide them everything they 
need in order to succeed, in Iraq as well as Afghanistan.

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