[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10748-S10749]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 591--CALLING FOR THE STRENGTHENING OF THE EFFORTS OF 
   THE UNITED STATES TO DEFEAT THE TALIBAN AND TERRORIST NETWORKS IN 
    AFGHANISTAN AND TO HELP AFGHANISTAN DEVELOP LONG-TERM POLITICAL 
                   STABILITY AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

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

                              S. Res. 591

       Whereas global terrorist networks, including those 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 winning the fight against terrorist networks 
     requires a comprehensive and global effort;
       Whereas, according to the Final Report of the National 
     Commission on the Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, 
     ``The U.S. government must identify and prioritize actual or 
     potential terrorist sanctuaries. For each, it should have a 
     realistic strategy to keep possible terrorists insecure and 
     on the run, using all elements of national power.'';
       Whereas a democratic, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan is 
     a vital security interest of the United States;
       Whereas a strong and enduring strategic partnership between 
     the United States and Afghanistan must continue to be a 
     primary objective of both countries to advance a shared 
     vision of peace, freedom, security, and broad-based economic 
     development in Afghanistan and throughout the world;
       Whereas the long-term political stability of Afghanistan 
     requires sustained economic development, and the United 
     States has an interest in helping Afghanistan achieve this 
     goal;
       Whereas section 101(1) of the Afghanistan Freedom Support 
     Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7511(1)) declares, ``The United States 
     and the international community should support efforts that 
     advance the development of democratic civil authorities and 
     institutions in Afghanistan and the establishment of a new 
     broad-based, multi-ethnic, gender-sensitive, and fully 
     representative government in Afghanistan.'';
       Whereas the Government of Afghanistan continues to make 
     progress in developing the capacity to deliver services to 
     the people of Afghanistan, yet 40 percent of the population 
     is unemployed and 90 percent of the population lacks regular 
     electricity;
       Whereas stability in Afghanistan is being threatened by 
     antigovernment and Taliban forces that seek to disrupt 
     political and economic developments throughout the country;
       Whereas the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National 
     Police have made some progress but still lack the ability to 
     establish security throughout Afghanistan;
       Whereas, despite the efforts of the international 
     community, the United Nations, and the Government of 
     Afghanistan, 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 number of attacks waged by the Taliban on 
     central, provincial, and local-level government officials and 
     establishments, the Afghan National Army, the Afghan National 
     Police, and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and 
     United States military personnel increased significantly 
     during 2006 over the number of such attacks that occurred 
     during 2005;
       Whereas the number of suicide bombings in Afghanistan 
     doubled and the number of suicide attacks more than tripled 
     from 2005 to 2006;
       Whereas the number of United States troops in Afghanistan 
     is approximately 23,000, approximately \1/7\ of the number of 
     troops currently in Iraq;
       Whereas Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are still at 
     large and have been reported to be somewhere in the 
     Afghanistan-Pakistan border region;
       Whereas Afghan President Hamid Karzai said, ``The same 
     enemies that blew up themselves in . . . the twin towers in 
     America are still around.'';
       Whereas, on September 12, 2006, the United States 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 that 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, on September 21, 2006, the Secretary General of 
     NATO called for additional troops for Afghanistan, saying, 
     ``more can be done and should be done,'' and on September 18, 
     2006, the top United Nations official in Afghanistan said 
     that more troops and economic aid are still needed, saying, 
     ``These are difficult times for Afghanistan. . . . If we want 
     to succeed in Afghanistan, the answer is clear: Afghanistan 
     needs more sustained support from the international 
     community.'';
       Whereas United States assistance to Afghanistan was cut by 
     approximately 30 percent in fiscal year 2006 and the 
     President's request for fiscal year 2007 cut that amount by 
     an additional 67 percent;
       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 20, 2006, NATO's Supreme Allied 
     Commander for Europe said, ``Narcotics [are] at the core of 
     everything that can go wrong in Afghanistan if it's not 
     properly tackled.'' and ``We're not making progress--we're 
     losing ground.'';
       Whereas, if the United States does not strengthen efforts 
     to defeat the Taliban and to create long-term stability in 
     Afghanistan and the region, 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 United States, in partnership with the 
     International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the 
     Government of Afghanistan, must immediately increase its 
     efforts to eradicate the Taliban, terrorist organizations, 
     and criminal networks currently operating in Afghanistan, 
     including by increasing United States military and other 
     personnel and equipment in Afghanistan as necessary;
       (3) the United States, in consultation with ISAF and the 
     Government of Afghanistan, should consider all options 
     necessary to implement a comprehensive new program to 
     eliminate opium production in Afghanistan, including sending 
     additional resources to Afghanistan and an increased role for 
     the United States military and North Atlantic Treaty 
     Organisation (NATO) forces in counternarcotics efforts;
       (4) the United States should work aggressively to hold 
     members of the international community accountable for 
     delivering on the financial pledges they have made to support 
     development and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan;
       (5) the United States and the international community, in 
     concert with the Government of Afghanistan, should increase 
     efforts to strengthen the legitimacy of the Government of 
     Afghanistan and its ability to provide services to the people 
     of Afghanistan;
       (6) the United States, in support of the Government of 
     Afghanistan, should significantly increase the amount of 
     economic assistance available for reconstruction, social and 
     economic development, counternarcotics efforts, and democracy 
     promotion activities in Afghanistan;

[[Page S10749]]

       (7) the President, through the Secretary of State, should 
     develop a comprehensive interagency stabilization and 
     reconstruction strategy in coordination with the 
     international community and the Government of Afghanistan 
     that--
       (A) aligns humanitarian, development, economic, political, 
     counterterrorism, and regional strategies to achieve the 
     objectives of the United States and Afghanistan in 
     Afghanistan; and
       (B) orients current and future programs to meet the 
     objectives set forth in this strategy;
       (8) the President, through the Secretary of Defense, should 
     evaluate the impact that United States military operations in 
     Iraq are having on the capability of the United States 
     Government to effectively carry out its mission to support 
     reconstruction efforts and to conduct an effective 
     counterterrorism and counterinsurgency campaign in 
     Afghanistan; and
       (9) the President, not later than 6 months after the date 
     this resolution is agreed to, should present to Congress a 
     status report on the items referred to in paragraphs (2) 
     through (8), including a projection of future challenges and 
     the resource requirements necessary to continue to support 
     counterterrorism and counternarcotic efforts and 
     Afghanistan's transition to a peaceful, democratic country.

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