[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17537]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  MOVING THE GOALPOSTS ON AFGHANISTAN

  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, about a year ago, the President of the 
United States quite clearly laid out a plan to begin redeploying troops 
out of Afghanistan in July of 2011. It was not soon enough for me, but 
it demonstrated at least the recognition that this could not go on 
forever and a commitment to do the right thing, the thing that the 
majority of Americans want, bring our troops home was on the table.
  But now top officials are telling us not to start planning our 
welcome-home parades for our soldiers, that U.S. combat troops would 
actually be on the ground in Afghanistan until 2014.
  The Commander in Chief has said that this war will begin to end next 
July, and it appears that the generals who work for him are actively 
trying to undermine that deadline by painting a rosy picture of 
conditions on the ground, often in direct contradiction of intelligence 
reports.
  The most galling moment and the most galling comment of all came from 
Lieutenant General William Caldwell, who leads NATO's training of 
Afghan security forces. He not only talks of the 2014 date as it's 
established policy; he says he needs more resources and more military 
trainers just to get Afghanistan ready to provide for their own 
security by that date.
  So we've gone from the military saluting President Obama and saying 
they could get it done by July 2011, to saying that current levels of 
personnel aren't adequate to get the job done in four more years' time.
  Lieutenant General Caldwell also echoed what other officials have 
said, that the 2014 date comes not from the Oval Office or the Pentagon 
or the situation room, but was initially put forward by Afghanistan 
President Hamid Karzai.
  But since when, I ask you, Mr. Speaker, does a foreign head of state 
set our goals? I thought U.S. foreign policy and decisions about our 
national security were made by the elected representatives of the 
American people.
  The truth, Mr. Speaker, is that things have gotten far worse in 
Afghanistan since we committed more troops. Our troops are dying at a 
greater pace than at any other point in the 9 years of war. Civilian 
casualties are also on the rise. The Afghan people have little 
confidence in our mission and its ability to improve their lives. The 
insurgency remains as nimble and sophisticated as ever. Effective local 
government is barely in existence.
  We've heard all the arguments before about why accelerated time 
tables supposedly don't work; that they embolden the enemy; that the 
insurgents will simply wait us out until the date of departure. But 
they're not waiting us out now. They effectively control vast swaths of 
the country, and the one thing that is giving them greater strength and 
moral authority is the continued presence of our combat troops on 
Afghan soil.
  How much more do we have to fail before we change strategies, I ask? 
How many chances are we going to give this military occupation? How 
much patience are we supposed to have? I say, not a minute more, Mr. 
Speaker. I say it's time to bring our troops home.

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