[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 21]
[House]
[Page 28967]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             SUPPORT FOR SENDING MORE TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. After months of deliberation, the President announced 
yesterday his decision to endorse a request for reinforcements by our 
commanding officers in Afghanistan, and I support his decision. By 
calling for a surge of forces in Afghanistan, President Obama is 
embracing the counterinsurgency strategy that succeeded in Iraq and, if 
given a chance, will succeed again. The war in Afghanistan is a war of 
necessity. A decisive victory over the Taliban and al Qaeda must remain 
our unchanging objective.
  Now while reinforcements are critical to achieving victory, the 
morale of our troops and the unequivocal support of those at home is 
also important. Our brave men and women in uniform need to know that 
those who send them into battle will stand by them until the battle is 
won. Congress should resist the temptation to impose artificial 
timelines for withdrawal or benchmarks, as they only demoralize our 
troops and embolden our enemies. Telling the enemy when your commitment 
to fight will run out is a prescription for defeat.
  Congress should also reject any effort to pass a tax increase on the 
backs of our soldiers. Levying a war surtax at a time of runaway 
Federal spending is an insult to our men and women in uniform.

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