[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 161 (Monday, November 2, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H12181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  OCTOBER HAS BEEN THE DEADLIEST MONTH FOR U.S. TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I stood up in the House in late July and 
said the following words, ``Five American soldiers have been killed in 
Afghanistan this week. That brings the death toll in July to 31, making 
this the deadliest month for our troops since the conflict in 
Afghanistan began.''
  Tragically, Mr. Speaker, July didn't hold the record for long. It was 
quickly replaced by August as the deadliest month. Now, 55 of our 
troops have died in October, making this the deadliest month yet.
  We can't blame the troops for this, of course. They continue to fight 
with tremendous skill and with bravery. They do everything our Nation 
asks of them.
  So what's to blame? It's our strategy. It's a strategy which has 
relied almost exclusively on military action for over 8 years while 
ignoring the critically important political, economic, and cultural 
aspects of the conflict. Yet President Obama is now being urged to 
double down on the military-only policy that has failed us and send in 
another 40,000 troops.
  If we go down that road, what can the American people expect? They 
can expect higher troop levels, higher casualty rates, and many years 
of war that can end up costing us over a trillion dollars. Even if we 
do all that, the odds will still be stacked against us. That's not a 
strategy for success, Mr. Speaker. I think we can do better.
  If we want to succeed in Afghanistan, we must change the way we do 
business there. Instead of fighting extremists after they have gotten a 
foothold, let's invest our resources on what would prevent violent 
extremism from taking root in the first place. That includes economic 
development, jobs, reconstruction, education, health care, civil 
affairs, and diplomacy. All would help stabilize Afghanistan.
  Mr. Speaker, a serious commitment to a civilian surge of experts and 
aid workers to help the Afghan people develop their economy would make 
a huge difference over there. We must also develop a much better set of 
rigorous metrics to evaluate progress and report the results to the 
American people. Then we could develop an exit strategy. We could send 
the message that our involvement in Afghanistan is not open-ended.
  It would also help to reassure the Afghan people that we have no 
intention of occupying their land, because right now too many Afghan 
citizens see America as an occupying force. That, more than anything 
else, Mr. Speaker, is fueling anti-Americanism and the insurgency. We 
must also do everything we can to assure a credible central government 
in Kabul to help with humanitarian and other efforts to improve the 
lives of the Afghan people. These are just some of the elements of 
smart security that we need to use in Afghanistan.
  I have offered a comprehensive strategy for smart security in House 
Resolution 363, because I firmly believe that it would be a blueprint 
for victory against extremism in Afghanistan and other parts of the 
world. Mr. Speaker, by shifting from military power only to smart 
power, we can help Afghanistan to build a stable and functioning State. 
We can save the lives of our troops, and we can go a long way toward 
defeating the extremists who threaten America and the world.

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