[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 134 (Tuesday, September 22, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H9742-H9743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    A NEW PLAN NEEDED IN AFGHANISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Stearns) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, 8 years ago, in the wake of the worst 
terrorist attack that we have ever faced in America's history, the 
United States sent troops to Afghanistan. These troops were sent to 
accomplish a difficult mission, but an achievable mission, and despite 
the gains that have been made to date, our mission has not been 
properly resourced and executed.
  As such, 8 years later, the fight rages on and terrorists are still 
plotting to hijack our planes, blow up our bridges, wreak havoc on our 
cities, and murder innocent people. So the threat has not changed. 
Afghanistan remains a crucial theater in the war against terrorism and 
extremists who seek to destroy our way of life, and it deserves our 
utmost attention and adequate resources.
  To his credit, President Obama recognizes that the war in Afghanistan 
does need these greater resources, but some within his administration 
and party are advocating a ``small footprint'' strategy, calling for a 
reduction in the number of U.S. troops on the ground and a sole focus 
on al Qaeda only, instead of on the Taliban-led insurgent coalition.
  But a ``small footprint'' strategy did not work in Iraq. What did 
work was a robust counterinsurgency strategy backed by the surge of 
American troops. In fact, it was this strong presence of American 
soldiers in Iraq that encouraged Iraqis to come forward with valuable 
intelligence, which in turn led to more effective targeting of al Qaeda 
and other insurgent groups.
  My colleagues, this can be done in Afghanistan, but it also must 
include support from our European allies and other freedom-loving 
countries who desire to rid the world of terrorism.
  General McChrystal, the U.S. Commander in Afghanistan, is advocating 
an expanded military effort within a new counterinsurgency strategy 
that focuses on protecting Afghans from the intimidation tactics of the 
Taliban through a troop surge.
  General McChrystal is a highly capable and accomplished officer with 
extensive counterinsurgency experience. Yesterday he warned that we 
need more forces within the next year and that without them, our 
mission in Afghanistan will ``likely result in failure.''
  When it comes to military strategy, we should listen to those who 
know firsthand what the situation on the ground is in Afghanistan. But, 
my colleagues, we must also look at the political infrastructure of 
Afghanistan and be sure its political leaders are representing the best 
interests of the Afghan people and that political corruption is 
eliminated.
  It is clear that the Afghan military needs our help--and our numbers. 
But currently there are only 173,000 men in the Afghan army and police. 
Compare that with Iraq. In that country, which is smaller and less 
populated, there are over 600,000 Iraqi army and police. Clearly we 
need to train more Afghan military personnel.
  Unfortunately, though, for the past 8 years Afghanistan has not been 
a properly resourced war. The new strategy proposed by General 
McChrystal and General David Petraeus is focused on expanding and 
improving Afghan forces with better training and embedded advisers and 
forming a true partnership and trust between Afghan units and American 
units, with the end goal of growing the Afghan army and police to the 
point where U.S. troops could be reduced dramatically.
  But before we put more American troops in Afghanistan, we need a more 
deliberate plan with the Afghan military that includes participation by 
our allies and adequate support from the Afghan people and legitimate 
political leaders.
  The reality of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan is that it 
would take another 2 years to expand Afghanistan's forces to around 
300,000 personnel. Experts suggest at least 360,000 Afghan troops and 
police are needed to adequately fight the counterinsurgency and to 
effectively police the country's 33 million inhabitants. This is the 
key to our success.
  One thing we must not forget is that a withdrawal at this critical 
juncture would destabilize Pakistan, an ally in a region of instability 
and a country in possession of nuclear weapons.
  So, my colleagues, we need a new strategy that can work, but this new 
strategy can work only if we ask for patience from the American people 
and the knowledge that a mission of this magnitude and importance is 
not going to be won overnight or from afar. The sacrifices we make 
overseas now will prevent another 9/11-style attack here at home in the 
future.

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