[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5087]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
         SMART SECURITY: BETTER INVESTMENTS AND GREATER RETURNS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Woolsey) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, yesterday Americans filed their tax 
returns, sending the Federal Treasury funds for the government to 
perform vital functions. Unfortunately, much of that money, way too 
much of that money, continues to be wasted on a policy that has failed 
miserably.
  I'm talking about a policy that has lost the confidence of the 
American people whose taxes support it, a policy that has cost nearly 
2,000 American lives, a policy that has done more to undermine our 
national security goals than is done to make our Nation safer. Of 
course, I'm talking about the war in Afghanistan.
  This past weekend brought yet more evidence that our continued 
military presence in Afghanistan, carrying a price tag of roughly $10 
billion a month, is stirring up unrest and emboldening insurgents 
rather than providing security and stability. Beginning this last 
Sunday, the Taliban launched a series of bold, coordinated, and 
simultaneous attacks throughout Afghanistan, hitting the parliament 
building and diplomatic sites throughout the country.
  Thankfully, there were limited casualties. By many accounts, the 
Afghan security forces handled themselves with skill in response to the 
violence, which is very good news, because as the Afghans are better 
able to police and protect themselves, that's all the more reason to 
hasten our military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Every day that we 
continue our military occupation, Mr. Speaker, is another day that we 
breed resentment, that we inflame tensions and create more impassioned 
enemies.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people are writing the check for this war. 
In fact, they just sent in their annual check this week. They deserve a 
better return on that investment. They deserve a set of policies that 
are more humane, more consistent with our best values as a Nation, and 
more likely to advance our national security objectives.
  They deserve the kind of SMART Security approach I have been talking 
about for many years now. Instead of invasions and warfare, we need 
diplomacy, we need multilateral cooperation. Instead of military 
surges, we need civilian surges. Instead of troops with guns, we need 
to send humanitarian experts, experts that can help Afghanistan and 
other developing countries fight poverty, rebuild their infrastructure, 
educate their people and so much more.
  Listen to this quote, Mr. Speaker:

       In today's ever-complex world, we must use all the tools of 
     national security to achieve our objectives, including a 
     strong State Department and other civilian-led agencies. 
     Development and diplomacy keep us safe by addressing threats 
     in the most dangerous corners of the world and by preventing 
     conflicts before they occur.

  That's an excellent explanation of SMART Security, but that's not 
Lynn Woolsey, and it's not the Out of Afghanistan Caucus talking. It's 
from a letter to Congress signed by 80 retired military leaders making 
the case not to cut USAID and arguing for a strong, international 
affairs budget.
  The time is now, not in 2014, Mr. Speaker. The time is now to bring 
our brave troops home to implement the compassionate and cost-effective 
SMART Security agenda that can keep our Nation safe, and it can keep 
peace in the world.

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