[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 22865]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   NO TROOP ESCALATION IN AFGHANISTAN

  (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, President Obama will soon decide whether 
to significantly escalate the number of U.S. troops deployed to 
Afghanistan. I urge him to exercise extreme caution and not increase 
America's military footprint in Afghanistan.
  I was in Afghanistan right after the elections. Everyone admits there 
was massive fraud and that corruption is widespread in the government. 
Do we really expect to achieve long-term sustainable development in 
Afghanistan when the people have no confidence in their leaders? Can we 
develop and train a credible Afghanistan security force when many of 
its leaders are allied with warlords and drug lords?
  Last Friday, 57 bipartisan Members of Congress sent a letter to the 
President asking him not to increase the number of U.S. combat troops 
in Afghanistan in the absence of a well-defined military exit strategy. 
If we're going to send our men and women to fight and die in 
Afghanistan for a corrupt and fraudulent government, then at least tell 
us when they will be able to come home.

                                Congress of the United States,

                               Washington, DC, September 25, 2009.
     Hon. Barack Obama,
     President of the United States, The White House, Pennsylvania 
         Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: As you consider the latest assessment 
     of U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan by General Stanley 
     A. McChrystal, we urge you to reject any recommendation to 
     increase the number of combat troops there, particularly in 
     the absence of a well-defined military exit strategy.
       We have enormous confidence in the ability of the U.S. 
     military, but we question the effectiveness of committing our 
     troops to a prolonged counterinsurgency war that could last 
     ten years or more, involve hundreds of thousands of troops, 
     and impose huge financial costs on taxpayers already saddled 
     with trillions of dollars of government debt.
       According to General Charles Krulak (retired), the 31st 
     Commandant of the Marine Corps, the current strategy of 
     protecting the people of Afghanistan with U.S. forces would 
     require an escalation of several hundred thousand additional 
     troops. He warns that our military has already been 
     overburdened: ``Not only are our troops being run ragged but, 
     equally important and totally off most people's radar 
     screens, our equipment is being run ragged.'' It is unlikely 
     that our NATO allies will be able to sustain the political 
     support necessary for continuing such a mission placing even 
     more of a burden on American forces and the American people.
       2009 is already the deadliest year for U.S. forces since 
     the war began eight years ago. Fifty-one of the seven hundred 
     and thirty-eight U.S. soldiers who have lost their lives in 
     Afghanistan were killed last month alone.
       The national Afghanistan election that U.S. Ambassador Karl 
     Eikenberry hoped would lead to a ``renewal of trust of the 
     Afghan people for their government'' was a disaster and will 
     almost certainly have the opposite effect. The official 
     Electoral Complaints Commission in Afghanistan has announced 
     that it has found ``clear and convincing evidence of fraud.'' 
     A government already mired in allegations of widespread fraud 
     and incompetence is now facing serious charges and compelling 
     evidence that it has attempted to steal the national 
     election.
       A February 2009 ABC/BBC/ARD poll found that only 18 percent 
     of Afghans support increasing the number of U.S. troops in 
     their country. This should come as no surprise. Historically, 
     Afghans have always forcefully resisted the presence of 
     foreign military forces, be they British, Soviet or American. 
     The presence of our forces strengthens the hand of Taliban 
     recruiters. Indeed, an independent analysis early this year 
     by the Carnegie Institute concluded that the presence of 
     foreign troops is probably the single most important factor 
     in the resurgence of the Taliban.
       We support your administration's declared goals of 
     defeating Al Qaeda and reducing the global terrorist threat. 
     But, we believe that adding even more U.S. troops to the 
     military escalation that your administration ordered in March 
     would be counterproductive. We urge you to consider and 
     pursue the full range of alternative options including 
     applying the lessons of the Cold War where we isolate and 
     contain those who pose a threat to our national security.
       Mr. President, the last thing that our nation needs as it 
     struggles with the pain of a severe economic crisis and a 
     mountain of debt is another military quagmire. We believe 
     that this is why recent polls consistently show that a 
     majority of Americans are opposed to a military escalation in 
     Afghanistan. We urge you to reject any recommendation for a 
     further escalation of U.S. military forces there.
           Sincerely,
         James P. McGovern, Walter Jones, Ron Paul, Ed Whitfield, 
           Neil Abercrombie, Jim McDermott, Pete Stark, Bruce 
           Braley, Phil Hare, Raul Grijalva, Lynn Woolsey, Lloyd 
           Doggett, Bob Filner, John Olver, Jose Serrano, Barbara 
           Lee, Jerry Costello, Ben Ray Lujan, Alan Grayson, Peter 
           Welch.
         Kurt Schrader, Tammy Baldwin, Ed Pastor, Yvette Clarke, 
           Sheila Jackson Lee, John Lewis, Carolyn B. Maloney, 
           Richard Neal, Diane Watson, John Conyers, Jr., Dennis 
           Kucinich, Tim Johnson (IL), Steve Cohen, Keith Ellison, 
           Donna Edwards, Laura Richardson, Michael Honda, Jan 
           Schakowsky, Daniel Maffei, Steve Kagen.
         Michael Capuano, Sam Farr, Chellie Pingree, Luis 
           Gutierrez, Maurice Hinchey, Maxine Waters, Mazie 
           Hirono, Jared Polis, Roscoe Bartlett, John J. Duncan, 
           Jr., Dana Rohrabacher, Mike Michaud, Earl Blumenauer, 
           Rush Holt, Mike Quigley, Peter DeFazio, Jerrold Nadler.

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