[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 25, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S4166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday, the Senate began 
consideration of the supplemental spending bill to fund the surge of 
forces into Afghanistan and our ongoing efforts in Iraq.
  President Karzai was recently here to talk about the situation in 
Afghanistan, and during that same week General McChrystal briefed the 
Armed Services Committee on the conduct of the overall campaign.
  One message that came through from both visits is that the surge in 
Afghanistan is not yet complete and the counterinsurgency strategy 
General McChrystal has developed is still in its early stages. So it is 
impossible to overstate the importance of supporting our troops in the 
field.
  In the coming year, the resolve of NATO forces in Afghanistan will be 
tested by the Taliban fighters. The Taliban leadership in Pakistan will 
be watching with interest to see if this Congress and our country stand 
firmly behind the counterinsurgency strategy and so will our Pakistani 
partners, elected governments in European capitals, and average 
citizens in Afghanistan.
  Low-level Taliban fighters in Afghanistan will ultimately have to 
decide whether to side with a government that has yet to earn their 
trust or Taliban leaders. They will be watching our efforts as they 
weigh whether to side with the Taliban leaders or their current 
government in this fight. This is why we must keep up the pressure.
  The stakes are as high as ever. We have seen that in recent weeks as 
the Pakistani Taliban has attempted to strike us here at home and as 
the Afghan Taliban has launched high visibility strikes at military 
installations in Kandahar and at Bagram. Afghan leaders who attend the 
coming peace talks will be waiting to see if the United States can be 
trusted to stay long enough to fulfill our promises of helping the 
security forces of Afghanistan become operationally effective.
  American forces have brought great pressure on the Taliban in 
Afghanistan. That must continue if General McChrystal's strategy is to 
succeed. We must work together to help him ensure that the Taliban do 
not return to power in Afghanistan and that Afghanistan does not again 
become a sanctuary for terrorists.
  In short, we must pass this bill with bipartisan support and resist 
the urge to slow it down or to use it as a mere vehicle for deficit 
spending on pet domestic projects that will only bog us down in a 
partisan fight.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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