[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 10849-10850]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   FOCUS ON AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN

  Mr. CASEY. Madam President, I rise to convey this afternoon some 
brief remarks on the new strategy of the United States for Afghanistan 
and Pakistan announced by President Obama last month. I applaud his 
statement, and I applaud the sharpening of focus this new 
administration has brought to our mission in this critical region of 
the world. For too long, our policy in both Afghanistan and Pakistan 
has drifted--overly reliant on support for individual leaders, 
excessively ambitious in our goals for the region, and, finally, 
lacking any constraints or accountability for the billions of tax 
dollars of the United States spent in both countries.
  President Obama made clear during the campaign last year that we 
could no longer pair grandiose rhetoric with paltry resources when it 
comes to U.S. policy toward those two nations.
  Accordingly, in one of his first national security decisions, he 
established a 60-day comprehensive review of our entire policy. He 
asked the respected Bruce Riedel to take leave from the Brookings 
Institution and oversee this review.
  The policy review is now complete. With the full support of Admiral 
Mullen and General Petraeus, the President is dispatching an additional 
4,000 troops to train and advise the Afghan Army as it grows in size 
and scope to shoulder the burden of securing Afghanistan on its own.
  The President is dramatically increasing our civilian presence in 
Afghanistan, recognizing that we cannot win this conflict on military 
terms alone but must provide a robust development and diplomatic 
capability to complement our brave fighting men and women.
  Finally, the Obama administration recognizes we cannot separate 
Afghanistan and Pakistan, to pretend as if they were two separate 
challenges. Nothing could be further from the truth.
  Following the successful offensive of the United States in 
Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, hard-line Taliban and al-Qaida elements 
successfully relocated to western Pakistan. From there, they have 
created a sanctuary to attack troops of the United States, to 
destabilize eastern and southern Afghanistan, and to launch attacks on 
Pakistani military units and civilian installations.
  Moreover, these radical elements are beginning to move westward 
within Pakistan, threatening the stability of the Pakistani state. I am 
extremely concerned by the speed with which the Taliban is gaining 
ground, especially in the areas close to Islamabad, the capital. I know 
the administration is working with our partners in Pakistan to prevent 
the situation from deteriorating even further. We must continue to work 
with the Government of Pakistan to prevent these radical groups from 
destabilizing the Pakistani State and the region. As we all know, 
Pakistan has a nuclear arsenal which would pose a grave threat should 
it fall under the control of extremists.
  The recent gains of the Taliban show how interrelated the threats in 
Pakistan and Afghanistan are. The threat in Afghanistan feeds off the 
threat in Pakistan and vice versa. We must treat this for what it is: 
one theater that requires a unified approach.
  The President laid out, in vivid terms, why this is so important that 
we achieve success in our mission in both countries. Let me quote from 
his speech laying out the new strategy. I am quoting President Obama:

       Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that Al Qaeda 
     is actively planning attacks on the U.S. homeland from its 
     safe-haven in Pakistan. And if the Afghan government falls to 
     the Taliban--or allows Al Qaeda to go unchallenged--that 
     country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill 
     as many of our people as they possibly can.

  It gets no clearer than that. The very people who attacked us on 9/11 
are plotting future attacks on us in Afghanistan and the border region 
in Pakistan.

[[Page 10850]]

We must disrupt and neutralize these groups before they strike again.
  A theme I have emphasized in recent weeks is that the President, 
supported by his Cabinet officers and top aides, must continue to 
engage the American people on why our mission in Afghanistan and 
Pakistan is so essential to our national security. In other words, it 
is not enough to have one Presidential speech on our strategy and then 
to ignore the issue. I know this President, and I understand he will 
not do that. Instead, he will continue to talk about the importance of 
the sacrifices being made by our fighting men and women in that 
theater. He will lay out a series of benchmarks to measure progress by 
the Afghan and Pakistani Governments and then give us clear indications 
as to how they are doing. The American people will support their 
Commander in Chief but only provided they are given updates on the 
progress achieved at regular intervals.
  Let me conclude with one final observation. During the lead up to and 
the early execution of the Iraq war, the Congress was rightly 
criticized for being missing in action. Tough questions on our mission 
and our strategy were not asked often enough. Administration assertions 
were too often taken at face value. We cannot allow that to happen 
again, not in a military conflict so vital to the security of the 
American people.
  I support the President wholeheartedly, but that support is neither 
blind nor unthinking. I happen to chair the Senate Foreign Relations 
subcommittee responsible for the Middle East and South Asia. 
Accordingly, Afghanistan and Pakistan fall within my subcommittee's 
jurisdiction. I intend to hold hearings later this year to review the 
administration's implementation of the strategy it announced recently, 
with a special focus on the promised benchmarks for success in both 
countries.
  Effective congressional oversight is essential if the United States 
is to have unity of purpose and unity of will to, as the President has 
said, disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaida in Pakistan and 
Afghanistan and to prevent their return to either country in the 
future.
  Madam President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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