[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14909]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    WIKILEAKS DOCUMENTS ADD TO MOUNTING EVIDENCE AGAINST AFGHAN WAR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, the documents released to the news media 
this past weekend by WikiLeaks add to the mounting evidence that the 
war in Afghanistan remains fiscally unsustainable and morally 
unjustifiable. The New York Times puts it bluntly. They say, ``The 
documents illustrate why, after the United States has spent almost $300 
billion on the war in Afghanistan, the Taliban are stronger than at any 
time since 2001.''
  Madam Speaker, I don't know how we can possibly reach any other 
conclusion: This war is not worth the huge investment in blood and 
treasure which the American people have been asked to make for nearly a 
decade.
  WikiLeaks uncovers much that has been missing from the official 
accounts of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. To give just 
one important example, they reveal that the Taliban gained access to 
sophisticated heat-seeking missiles, which they used to kill U.S. and 
NATO troops.
  Afghan security forces do not enjoy any trust or legitimacy in the 
eyes of Afghan citizens. They are not just incapable, according to 
specific WikiLeaks reports, they are often brutally cruel and corrupt. 
Petty bribery; a police chief selling ammunition on the black market; 
commanders stealing their underlings' salaries--this is just the least 
of it, Madam Speaker. In one account, a police commander takes 
advantage of a teenage girl and then shoots his own bodyguard when the 
bodyguard refuses to open fire on a civilian complaining about the 
rape. Most shockingly of all, perhaps, is the revelation that the 
Government of Pakistan, our purported ally, is actively assisting the 
very militants we are fighting in Afghanistan.
  Pakistan is a country that we lavish with foreign aid, one that U.S. 
officials repeatedly praise as an important partner in the struggle 
against terrorism, and it appears they're using our money to support 
our enemy.
  We are not just talking about the passive enabling of terrorism. 
There are reports of Pakistani intelligence officials recruiting and 
training suicide bombers and helping to plan major Taliban offensives.
  Perhaps most galling of all is the collective shrug from many in the 
foreign policy community about the WikiLeaks reports. We have known 
about this stuff all along, they say. This is nothing new.
  Well, first of all, Madam Speaker, I am willing to bet a good 
percentage of the American people didn't know that their tax dollars 
are helping Pakistan fight against our interests.
  Second, I think it is important to ask everyone who has 
responsibility for prosecuting this war: If you knew about these 
things, what are you doing about them?
  As if I needed any more persuasion, the WikiLeaks revelations left me 
with no other choice earlier this week than to vote against the 
supplemental, Madam Speaker. How could I, in good conscience, endorse 
continued financial support for an unwinnable war, one that does 
violence to our values and is undermining our national security 
objectives?
  There is only one option, Madam Speaker: End this war and bring our 
troops home.

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