[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 121-122]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          THE ADMINISTRATION'S AFGHANISTAN PLAN LACKS CLARITY

  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, when a President decides to go to war, his 
or her plans must have clarity. The American people need to know 
exactly where the President stands and what his goals are. The 
President's original proposal was to begin withdrawing American troops 
from Afghanistan 18 months from now, in July 2011. When the President 
first announced the plan, it sounded like a pretty clear timetable, but 
then the picture started to get really fuzzy when American and Afghan 
officials began to backtrack.
  National Security Adviser James Jones said the withdrawal date is 
``not a cliff, it's a ramp.'' Secretary of State Clinton said the 
withdrawal would continue ``for the foreseeable future.'' Defense 
Secretary Gates called the withdrawal plan the ``beginning of a 
process, an inflection point,'' and dependent upon ``conditions on the 
ground.'' He also said that the actual withdrawal would ``probably'' 
take 2 or 3 years. And then President Karzai really threw cold water on 
things when he said that Afghanistan would not be able to provide for 
its own security for 15 to 20 years, let alone 18 months.
  So the question is this: When July, 2011, rolls around, will we be at 
the beginning of the troop withdrawal or just in the middle of it? Will 
we be standing on the cliff or going down the ramp? And will we be at 
the inflection point or at the point of no return in another open-ended 
war?
  Mr. Speaker, the American people and our troops deserve a solid plan. 
We have the right to know exactly what we're getting into before we 
start spending billions of dollars more and spilling more and more of 
our troops' blood. That's why Congress must ask

[[Page 122]]

the administration some tough questions and demand better answers, 
especially before we authorize another dime for this foreign 
occupation.
  You know, that's our responsibility. That's our job. We must make 
sure that the next appropriation has a much better balance between the 
military and civilian need, a balance that will be considerably better 
than the last appropriation. We must make sure it includes sufficient 
funds for economic development, humanitarian aid, infrastructure, 
education, and other elements of smart security. And the House must 
have a full and open debate about the administration's escalation plan 
and an up-or-down vote on whether we support it.
  We have a solemn obligation, Mr. Speaker, to let the American people 
know where each one of us stands. As for me, I've made it clear that I 
am opposed to the escalation. I have proposed a clear alternative, 
House Resolution 363, the SMART Security Platform for the 21st Century. 
Mr. Speaker, after the catastrophe of Iraq, we can't march blindly into 
another war that will drag on for years and years. The time to change 
and to choose a better path is right now.

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