[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 13, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H2610-H2611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TIME FOR AN AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN STUDY GROUP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of the 
House legislation I am introducing to create an Afghanistan-Pakistan 
Study Group, modeled after the Iraq Study Group, to bring fresh eyes to 
the war effort in Afghanistan, which is now in its 10th year.
  Last August, I began pressing the administration to convene an 
Afghanistan-Pakistan Study Group. While reticent at first, to their 
credit President Bush, Secretary of State Rice, and Defense Secretary 
Rumsfeld came to support the Iraq Study Group, ably led by bipartisan 
chairs, former Secretary of State James Baker and former Congressman 
Lee Hamilton.
  It has been my hope that the Obama administration would come to view 
this bipartisan fresh eyes approach as something which is ultimately 
good for our men and women in uniform and

[[Page H2611]]

good for the country as a whole. Aside from the specific policy 
recommendations, the Iraq Study Group helped force a moment of truth in 
our national conversation about the war effort. It was apparent last 
summer and is still truer today that with roughly 100,000 U.S. troops 
presently in Afghanistan, no clear end is in sight to our Nation's 
longest running war, at 10 years and counting. Public support for the 
war is at an all-time low. A national conversation about Afghanistan is 
what is urgently needed.
  Before proposing this idea to the Obama administration, I spoke with 
a number of knowledgeable individuals, including former senior 
diplomats, public policy experts, and retired and active duty military. 
Many believed, all believed our Afghanistan policy was adrift. And 
there was a near unanimous position that an Afghanistan-Pakistan Study 
Group was needed. Among the distinguished individuals who embraced the 
idea was former ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker.
  Sadly, the war has remained distant for many Americans. It is rarely 
spoken of from the Presidential bully pulpit. In fact, a recent Fox 
News piece reported, ``The last time Obama specifically devoted a full 
public speech to Afghanistan was December 9, 2009, 16 months ago, when 
he announced at West Point that he was sending an additional 30,000 
U.S. troops to that war-torn country.'' And this Congress ought to be 
looking at this also.
  Further, the war is seldom covered in great depth in the news. And 
yet, for the husbands and wives, and mothers and fathers, sons and 
daughters who have sent off a loved one in uniform, the war in 
Afghanistan is anything but distant. It is uncertainty and sacrifice, 
it is separation and worry, and many times it is life and death.
  Despite my several letters to the President and other senior 
administration officials calling for a, quote, ``vigorous, thoughtful, 
and principled debate and discussion among some of our Nation's 
greatest minds,'' the idea for the study group has languished.
  So today, after the Obama administration has neglected this, I am 
introducing legislation to create an Afghan-Pakistan Study Group 
comprised of nationally known and respected individuals who love their 
country more than they love their political party, and who would, I 
believe, serve to provide much needed clarity to a policy that appears 
adrift at best, and highly politicized at worst.
  In reading ``Obama's Wars,'' I was deeply troubled by Bob Woodward's 
reporting, which indicated that discussions of the war strategy were 
infused with political calculations. Woodward also wrote of an 
administration that wrestled with the most basic questions about the 
war: What is the mission? What are we trying do? What will work? These 
are questions that demand answers. I believe that Americans of all 
political viewpoints can embrace this fresh eyes approach, for it is 
always to our national interest to openly assess the challenges before 
us and to chart a clear course to success.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation. This 
Congress, both political parties, cannot do what this administration is 
doing. We cannot ignore this issue.

                          ____________________