|
Washington DC Office:
2263 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
Ph.: 202-225-5161
Fax: 202-225-5163
District Offices:
Marin Office:
1050 Northgate Drive
Suite 354
San Rafael, CA. 94903
Ph.: 415-507-9554
Fax: 415-507-9601
Sonoma Office:
1101 College Avenue
Suite 200
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Ph.: 707-542-7182
Fax: 707-542-2745
|
Hot Topics:
Smart Security Platform for the 21st Century Platform
Floor Statements
To Watch Video of Lynn's Floor Statements,
please click on Watch Video below
All Video Clips Require
 | | |
New General, Same War (#367)
Watch Video | | July 15, 2010 | |
| Madam Speaker, after General Stanley McChrystal was relieved of his command last month and replaced by General David Petraeus, we read a lot of headlines that said things like this: ``Generals Change, But Afghan Doesn't.'' ``Afghan Policy Won't Change After Dismissal.''
But that is precisely, Madam Speaker, the problem. All the chatter about General McChrystal's indiscretion and firing obscured the critical point. The problem isn't with the personnel or the leadership, but with the strategy and the policy. The problem isn't with the generals, but with the war itself.
There's a bit of a rearranging-of-the-deck-chairs-on-the-Titanic quality to all of this. No matter what the captains say and no matter who captains the ship, as long as we continue to prosecute this failed war, as long as we keep sending Americans to die on a mission that's doing nothing to defeat terrorists or stabilize Afghanistan, then we are headed straight for that iceberg.
The more troops we deploy, the more violent Afghanistan becomes and the more Taliban grows its ranks. Unless General Petraeus is prepared to change that, then this change at the top doesn't amount to very much.
If General Petraeus' appointment leads to any change at all, it may not be the kind of change we should be enthusiastic about. In his confirmation hearing, General Petraeus refused to take ownership of the July 2011 troop withdrawal deadline, stating very clearly that he did not recommend such a date to the President, nor did anyone else in uniform. And he once again equivocated about July 2011, calling it the beginning of a process, which sounds an awful lot like a diplomatic way to say he doesn't believe in it and will ask the President to extend it.
He also added in his testimony, and I quote him, he said, ``The commitment to Afghanistan must be an enduring one.'' And on that point, Madam Speaker, I couldn't agree with the general more.
But an enduring commitment doesn't have to be a military commitment. We need an enduring civilian commitment, a smart security approach that invests in Afghanistan infrastructure, bolsters Afghan education, fights Afghan poverty, invigorates Afghan democracy, and much more. But we can do it without combat troops occupying the country, without the military footprint that has earned us more enemies than friends.
Madam Speaker, eight Americans were killed during a 24-hour period in Afghanistan early this week. We've had 35 fatalities already in July, putting it on track to be the deadliest month of the entire war. We are losing our people, we are losing our money, we are losing our credibility without advancing our goals. That has to end. It's time to bring our troops home. |
|
|
Windows Media Player (version 7.1 or higher)
