[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 40 (Friday, March 6, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H3058]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 DEALING WITH THE PROBLEMS IN PAKISTAN

  (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Speaker, in the three times 
that I have visited Afghanistan, the commanders in charge of our 
military-NATO combined effort in Afghanistan have said to the 
delegation that their problem is across the border in Pakistan, that al 
Qaeda is not in Afghanistan other than at such times as when the 
Taliban brings them to engage our soldiers for practice and for 
training. Yet we see the government of Pakistan entering into an 
agreement with the Taliban in the Swat in the northern frontier areas 
of Pakistan to turn that rather large geographical area of Pakistan 
over to the Taliban and to dismantle the military presence in that 
area.
  What we have seen since this agreement was reached, an accommodation 
to the Taliban, is that the training camps have expanded, people have 
been tortured and murdered, the military has removed from the area, 
checkpoints have been set up so that the Taliban can examine everybody 
who moves in and out of the area of whether they are pro-Taliban or 
anti-Taliban, and somehow we are told that this is good for Pakistan 
and this is good for America. It can't be, and we had better be careful 
before we send any more money to the Pakistani government.

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