[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 142 (Tuesday, September 9, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H7932]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION MUST ADDRESS NATIONAL SECURITY CHALLENGES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, we need to begin planning now for the 
issues our country must focus on when the new President takes office.
  This will be the first presidential transition to occur during a time 
of war in many years. In addition, the next administration will face 
enormous budget pressures and national security challenges that will 
require sustained spending and the partnership of the Congress. Let me 
take this opportunity to discuss what I believe will be the top defense 
challenges for our next President.
  First, we must develop a clear strategy to guide national security 
policy. Since World War II, the United States has been the 
indispensable Nation. But our Nation's ability to sustain this 
leadership role is jeopardized because we lack a comprehensive strategy 
to advance U.S. interests.
  The next President must collaborate with Congress and the American 
people to formulate a new, broadly understood and accepted strategy to 
advance our national security interests. The next Quadrennial Defense 
Review of the Department of Defense must translate this strategy into a 
clear roadmap for organizing the Department and setting priorities in 
the next 4 years.
  Second, we must restore America's credibility in the world. The full 
range of threats to our national security can only be addressed through 
the consistent and determined efforts of multiple nations working 
together. The new President will set the tone, but the U.S. can only 
lead and help reinvigorate international institutions if other nations 
believe we are credible, just, and intend our efforts to serve 
interests beyond our own.
  Third, we must refocus our efforts on Afghanistan. The situation in 
Afghanistan is deteriorating. Violence by the Taliban and al Qaeda is 
rising. Attacks against the coalition are increasing. And, safe havens 
in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region are thriving. The genesis of 
the 9/11 attack was in Afghanistan, and any future attack on our 
homeland is likely to originate in Afghanistan or in the border region 
with Pakistan.
  Until our country is prepared to lead and act decisively and 
persistently, problems in Afghanistan will continue to fester. Our 
efforts in Iraq have diverted resources and focus away from the war in 
Afghanistan. We must refocus our efforts, and work with the 
international community to provide the necessary leadership, strategy, 
and resources to Afghanistan to ensure success in that mission.
  Fourth, we must responsibly redeploy from Iraq. The men and women of 
our Armed Forces have done a magnificent job in Iraq, but the citizens 
of both the United States and Iraq agree that it is time for the U.S. 
military to come home. Our challenge is to manage that redeployment and 
to ensure that it reduces further strain on our military without 
jeopardizing the gains made in Iraq.
  We must continue to protect U.S. citizens in Iraq, pursue terrorists, 
and help train and equip the Iraqi Security Forces. U.S. combat forces 
must be freed up to begin the process of resetting, rebuilding, and 
also refocusing in Afghanistan. The United States will face new 
challenges to our security and our interests in the future, and we will 
need the military units that are in Iraq to be returned to their full 
capability to effectively address them.

                              {time}  1915

  Fifth, we must recruit and retain a high-quality force. Our forces 
are the most highly trained and educated in the world, but we face 
serious challenges to maintain the quality of force we have today.
  The cost to recruit and retain servicemembers has skyrocketed in 
recent years. And the tendency of Americans to serve in uniform has 
significantly declined as fewer young people are exposed to the 
military experience. Finding men and women who are physically and 
mentally qualified and willing to serve is an ongoing challenge.
  Sixth, we must ensure a high state of readiness for our forces. Our 
troops have been engaged in combat operations for nearly 7 years, and 
it has strained our military to the breaking point. Restoring readiness 
will take a significant investment of time and money, easily exceeding 
$100 million, but it must be done if we are to expect our military to 
respond ably when we need them. We are already at risk. Either we fix 
our readiness problems immediately, or else risk emboldening those who 
would seek to do us harm.
  Seven. We must develop a more comprehensive counter-terrorism 
strategy. With the al Qaeda and affiliated groups still presenting a 
major threat, the United States must apply ``lessons learned'' and be 
open to the advice of our allies. The key is to fight smarter and not 
necessarily harder by more effectively utilizing a range of tools 
beyond just the military-led, kinetic approaches to counterterrorism.
  The new administration must more aggressively pursue strategic 
communications strategies, intelligence and policing work, targeted 
development assistance, and a range of other counterinsurgency and 
irregular warfare tools.
  Eight, we must strike a balance between the near-term fixes and long-
term modernization.
  Each of the military services will have to address the fundamental 
imbalances in their current plans to simultaneously modernize and reset 
equipment, grow the number of ships in our Navy.
  Nine, we must reform the interagency process.
  And, ten, we must deal with the looming defense health care crisis.
  With increasing defense health care costs, difficulties in recruiting 
and retaining medical professionals, and the overwhelming demand placed 
on the medical system as it attempts to support thousands of men and 
women returning from combat, as well as their families, there is a 
perfect storm brewing, and in the next few years, that storm will be 
upon us.
  These and other national defense challenges will confront our Nation 
in the months and years ahead, and Congress and the administration must 
work together on a bipartisan basis to seriously address these issues. 
The security of the American people is at stake.

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