[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 103 (Wednesday, July 11, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H4781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE AFGHANISTAN WAR: COSTING US DEARLY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Woolsey) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Another day, Mr. Speaker, another wave of attacks by 
insurgents in Afghanistan. The New York Times reported yesterday that 
the Taliban killed five police officers with a roadside bomb in what it 
calls ``a relatively peaceful province'' in central Afghanistan.
  Separate attacks in Kandahar led to the deaths of three officers, 
with six civilians wounded. A motorcycle bomb took the lives of several 
more people in Helmand province on Sunday night, and then yet another 
motorcycle bomb in northern Afghanistan on Monday, wounding 26, with 10 
in critical condition. And a deeply disturbing video is making its way 
around the Internet showing a 22-year-old Afghan woman being brutally 
executed by the Taliban over accusations of adultery.
  Almost 11 years after our military occupation began, the security 
situation in Afghanistan is clearly abysmal. Our troops are in danger, 
Afghan security forces are in danger, and innocent civilians are in 
danger. Nearly 11 years ago, we went to war with the goal of defeating 
the Taliban, and yet the Taliban is alive and well, winning recruits, 
operating in the shadows, and ruling by terror throughout Afghanistan.
  I'm not saying that ending the war and bringing our troops home will 
stabilize Afghanistan overnight. But I am saying that the longer we 
continue with our military occupation, the more we breathe life into 
the very forces we're trying to defeat. It is the resentment of our 
boots on the ground that is helping to sustain the Taliban.
  There are clearly urgent humanitarian needs in Afghanistan, Mr. 
Speaker, and we have a moral responsibility to help meet them.

                              {time}  1040

  This is one of the poorest nations on Earth, with infrastructure 
needs, children who need schools, and malnutrition that must be 
addressed. But deploying thousands and thousands of troops for more 
than a decade is not the way to meet these challenges. Our military is 
not trained or equipped to do that kind of work.
  For pennies on the dollar, Mr. Speaker, we can have a true civilian 
surge, investing in development aid to improve the lives of the Afghan 
people. We could give USAID a fraction of the $10 billion a month we 
spend on the war in Afghanistan and we could do a world of good. This 
approach isn't just the right thing to do, it isn't just a moral 
imperative, it's the SMART national security strategy as well.
  On the other hand, the existing strategy of invasion and occupation 
has not served us well. The Afghanistan war has cost us dearly--in 
precious lives, in taxpayer dollars, in moral authority, and global 
credibility. It is undermining our national security interests instead 
of advancing them.
  Mr. Speaker, it's time to do the smart thing--bring our troops home 
and, in return, invest in the hopes and future of the Afghan people--
and do it now.

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