[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 21]
[House]
[Pages 28932-28933]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS OFFER A BETTER PLAN FOR 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. Mr. Speaker, President Obama will talk to the American 
people about Afghanistan tonight. He is expected to announce a major 
new escalation of the conflict. I believe President Obama's apparent 
decision to send tens of thousands more troops to Afghanistan is a 
mistake, and I believe that because the past years have taught us that 
there is no military solution to Afghanistan. That's why I've urged the 
President to change our mission and to emphasize diplomacy, economic 
development and humanitarian aid as the best way to stop violent 
extremism in Afghanistan.
  As a Californian, I'm proud to say that the California Democratic 
Party has passed a resolution that also urges President Obama to change 
course in Afghanistan. I want to recognize, and I want to thank my 
friends at the Progressive Democrats of America and the State Party's 
Progressive Caucus for leading the effort to pass the resolution. The 
resolution states that ``far from eradicating the Taliban and other 
insurgencies, the presence of foreign troops has instead strengthened 
them, creating greater insecurity, death and impoverishment of the 
Afghan people.''
  The California Democratic Party's resolution expresses deep concern 
for the ``honorable American young men

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and women who have been killed and wounded'' and the terrible toll of 
the war on their families. It notes that our involvement in Afghanistan 
``continues to cost billions of dollars each month while the United 
States and particularly the State of California are in an economic 
crisis without money to fund domestic needs.''
  The resolution also calls attention to the plight of the Afghan women 
who have suffered greatly during the war, and it calls for an end to 
military action that causes civilian casualties. It urges President 
Obama to redirect America's ``funding and resources to include an 
increase in humanitarian and developmental aid.'' It also asks the 
President to encourage ``multiparty talks aimed at ensuring a 
Democratic and legitimate representation of the people of Afghanistan, 
as well as a multiparty regional diplomacy for the safety and stability 
of neighboring countries.''
  Mr. Speaker, the resolution was adopted after the members of the 
California Democratic Party heard the powerful testimony of Marine 
veteran Rick Reyes. He has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and he 
said, There is no military solution to Afghanistan. The problems in 
Afghanistan are social problems, problems that cannot be fixed 
militarily.
  Mr. Speaker, instead of escalating the war and bringing more 
destruction to Afghanistan, we must devote our resources to improving 
the lives of the Afghan people. This change in strategy will achieve a 
number of very important goals. It will give the Afghan people hope for 
their future. It will give them a reason to reject violent extremism. 
It will save the lives of our troops, and it will save the lives of 
Afghan civilians. And it will save money, money that we need to invest 
in what will truly make our Nation stronger and safer, which includes 
energy independence, jobs, and reforming health care so that health 
care doesn't actually strangle our economy.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a lot that we should be doing, and this is what 
the American people want the Obama administration to focus on. That's 
why I will join with millions of Americans in the days ahead to oppose 
the escalation of the war in Afghanistan, and to continue to urge our 
President to change course.

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