[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 6, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E147]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             KABUL ATTACKS

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 6, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, a wave of terrorist attacks have 
rocked the Afghan capital over the last few weeks killing over 130 
people and leaving hundreds more injured. These horrific assaults in 
Kabul were specifically designed to demonstrate Afghanistan's 
vulnerability and instability. By attacking in the heart of the young 
Afghan democracy, terrorist are attempting to show the world that our 
efforts have failed and that they can murder with impunity. We must not 
accept this.
  Terrorism is designed for this purpose, to terrorize, to kill with 
the intention of coercing people to form political opinions or 
decisions that they would otherwise not make if they were not living in 
fear. But a future with the Taliban and al-Qaeda returning to power in 
Afghanistan is to accept that terrorism works and that millions who now 
live free, must again be subjected to the oppression of Taliban rule. 
We committed ourselves to the cause of defeating terrorism in 
Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, and we must hold to this course.
  However, after sixteen years of war, there has always been one 
fundamental flaw with our strategy. It has assumed that Afghanistan's 
neighbor, Pakistan, shared our goals. The recent attacks in Kabul 
present more evidence that Pakistan is not our ally in this cause. In 
the investigation of the attacks, the Afghan government has determined 
that their source was in the safe havens of Pakistan. And why should we 
be surprised, when it was Pakistan's intelligence service which created 
the Taliban and fostered a partnership with al-Qaeda decades ago?
  For years, we have attempted to pursue terrorists living across the 
Afghan border in Pakistan, including operations that killed Osama bin 
Laden and dozens of other senior terrorist leaders. But Pakistan 
pretends they were never there. It claims it has removed the safe 
havens but we know the Taliban leadership is still in places like 
Quetta and Peshawar--beyond the reach of U.S. and Afghan forces. We 
know that thousands are radicalized at Pakistani school and madrassas 
every year. And despite its bluster about being tough on terrorism, it 
frequently releases the terrorists it holds. Just last month it 
released a renown militant leader who recruited thousands of fighters 
for the Taliban and in December freed the leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba 
from house arrest. These terrorists walk free, direct attacks, and 
incite generations of young Pakistanis and Afghans, all while the 
Pakistani government collects billions of dollars in U.S. aid. This can 
no longer stand if we are to ever bring the war in Afghanistan to an 
acceptable conclusion.
  I applaud the President's decision to suspend security assistance to 
Pakistan and to publicly shame it for its role in harboring terrorism. 
The peace and security of South Asia should not be held hostage by the 
reckless policies of Pakistan. Until it can forgo its sponsorship of 
this extremist ideology and joins the responsible nations of the world 
in actively combatting groups like al-Qaeda and the Taliban, we should 
cease our partnership with the government of Pakistan. And that's just 
the way it is.

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