[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 22]
[House]
[Page 29845]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                ARE WE FIGHTING OR FUNDING THE TALIBAN?

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, U.S. contractors are paying U.S. tax 
dollars to the Taliban in order to protect the delivery of U.S. 
shipments of U.S. goods to U.S. soldiers so that our soldiers can fight 
against the Taliban.
  In an investigative expose, The Nation magazine reveals ``how U.S. 
funds the Taliban,'' and ``with Pentagon cash, contractors bribe 
insurgents not to attack supply lines for U.S. troops.'' Another quote 
from the investigation: ``The real secret to trucking in Afghanistan is 
ensuring security on the perilous roads controlled by warlords, tribal 
militias, insurgents, and Taliban commanders.'' The American executive 
I spoke to was fairly specific about it: ``The Army is basically paying 
the Taliban not to shoot at them,'' and then the Taliban uses that 
money to shoot at our troops. What a racket.
  Are we in Afghanistan to fight or to fund the Taliban or both?

                          ____________________