[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 164 (Thursday, November 5, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H12430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        LET'S HELP THE AFGHAN PEOPLE TO REJECT VIOLENT EXTREMISM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, the last 8 years has taught us a very 
hard lesson. There is no military solution to Afghanistan. Escalating 
the war by sending in tens of thousands more troops will not defeat 
violent extremism in that country.
  That's why I have urged President Obama to change the mission in 
Afghanistan. We must abandon the military-only strategy that has failed 
us and that we must begin to emphasize humanitarian aid, economic 
development, reconstruction, better health care and education. These 
are the tools that the Afghan people need to improve their lives and to 
reject extremism.
  Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times wrote a column last week 
entitled, ``More Schools, Not Troops.'' His article makes the case for 
changing our mission very well. In his column, Kristof writes that 
investments in education, health and agriculture ``have a better record 
at stabilizing societies than military solutions, which have a pretty 
dismal record.''
  Education is especially important, he says. He argues that ``schools 
are not a quick fix, but we have abundant evidence that they can, over 
time, transform countries.''
  He gave Pakistan and Bangladesh as examples of that. The United 
States has spent $15 billion in Pakistan, Madam Speaker, since 9/11, 
mostly on military support. Yet Pakistan is more unstable than ever and 
al Qaeda has found a home there.
  Meanwhile, Bangladesh, once a part of Pakistan, has made major 
investments in education, especially for girls. This has spurred 
economic growth, which has helped keep al Qaeda out of that country.
  Kristof also writes that ``when I travel in Pakistan, I see evidence 
that one group, the extremists, believes in the transformative power of 
education. They provide free schooling and often free meals for 
students. They offer scholarships for the best pupils. What I don't see 
is similar numbers of American-backed schools. It breaks my heart that 
we don't invest in schools as much as medieval, misogynist 
extremists.''
  He then goes on to say that ``for roughly the same cost as stationing 
40,000 troops in Afghanistan for 1 year, we could educate the great 
majority of the 75 million children worldwide who are not getting even 
a primary education. Such a vast global education campaign would reduce 
poverty, cut birth rates, improve America's image in the world, promote 
stability and chip away at extremism.''
  Madam Speaker, I hope that President Obama will keep this in mind as 
he reviews his options on Afghanistan and makes his decisions in the 
coming weeks. America simply cannot afford to rely on our military 
power alone, because that strategy plays right into the hands of the 
extremists. Our heavy military footprint is feeding the insurgency in 
Afghanistan, not weakening it.
  By changing the mission to emphasize education and the other tools 
that can give the Afghan people a real stake in peace, we can stop 
violent extremism in its tracks. And we can keep our troops safer and 
build a more peaceful world for our children and our grandchildren.

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