[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18348]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               WE MUST RETHINK OUR POLICY IN AFGHANISTAN

  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 administration is currently reviewing 
our military strategy in Afghanistan. General McChrystal, the leader of 
U.S. and NATO forces, is expected to give his report to the President 
in just a few weeks.
  But the President isn't the only one who should be reviewing our 
policy. Every Member of this House should be reviewing our policy too, 
because we are once again relying on the military option, just like we 
did in Iraq. And that's just not the best way to stop the violent 
extremists who threaten us.
  If you need proof of that, just remember that al Qaeda has launched 
more attacks since 9/11 than before 9/11. And our National Intelligence 
Estimates have warned us that al Qaeda is getting stronger--stronger--
not weaker. And if you need even more proof, Madam Speaker, that 
military force doesn't work, I urge you to read the RAND Corporation 
report entitled ``How Terrorist Groups End.''
  RAND studied 648 extremists groups that existed between 1968 and 
2006. It found that military force was effective against these groups 
only 7 percent of the time. In its analysis, RAND discovered two 
strategies that actually worked better. The first was negotiated 
political settlements; the second was the use of intelligence and 
police agencies to penetrate and disrupt extremist organizations. 
Combined, these two strategies were effective 83 percent of the time.
  RAND applied its analysis to al Qaeda and concluded that ``policing 
and intelligence should be the backbone of U.S. efforts.'' And they 
believe this to be true in Afghanistan and other parts of the world. 
This is because ``al Qaeda consists of a network of individuals who 
need to be tracked and arrested,'' which requires the cooperation of 
U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies.
  RAND also said that America ``should generally resist being drawn 
into combat operations in Muslim societies, since its presence is 
likely to increase'' the recruitment of violent extremists.
  Madam Speaker, instead of using military force, we must change our 
mission in Afghanistan. We must use the far more effective tools of 
SMART power. SMART power can do a much better job of ending violent 
extremism than bombs, bullets, invasions, and occupations.
  In this session of Congress, I have introduced House Resolution 363, 
the SMART Security Platform For the 21st century. It calls for 
strengthening intelligence and law enforcement agencies to track and 
arrest those involved in violent acts, while still respecting the rule 
of law.
  SMART security also calls for improvements in civilian policing. A 
well-trained police force is a highly effective counterinsurgency tool 
because it is located where the extremists actually lurk. My SMART 
security platform also includes many other initiatives to provide for 
stopping extremism in Afghanistan and other parts of the world. SMART 
security addresses the root causes of violence and it encourages 
diplomatic and multilateral action. It promotes nuclear 
nonproliferation, and it ends our dependence on foreign oil.
  Madam Speaker, the death toll in Afghanistan is on the rise. A summer 
of heavy fighting is ahead of us. Let's stop this bloodshed before we 
have another Iraq on our hands. Let's do the smart thing. Let's change 
our strategy before it's too late.

                          ____________________