On Sept. 8, Rep. Petri returned from a fact-finding trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Armed Services Committee has put out the following release on the trip.
Rep. Petri met with troops in both Afghanistan and Italy, including a number from Wisconsin. A photo from Kabul, which includes four members of the Armed Forces from Wisconsin, can be found here: http://petri.house.gov/gallery.shtml
Rep. Petri would like to add the following comments to the release below:
"I was greatly impressed with the dedication of our troops in Afghanistan. They are fully professional and fully dedicated to their mission.
"I came away from the trip with many concerns about Afghanistan. While we can look forward to Iraq taking over its security and the costs of rebuilding, Afghanistan is going to be dependent on foreign assistance for a long time to come. We need to think clearly about what we need to accomplish in Afghanistan, what we would like to accomplish, what this will mean for our troops, how much it's all going to cost, and who's going to pay for it."
House Armed Services Committee
Ike Skelton, Chairman http://armedservices.house.gov
Sept. 9, 2008
Members of Congress Discuss CODEL to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Vienna
Washington, DC - Representatives Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Jim Cooper (D-TN), Nancy Boyda (D-KS), Thomas Petri (R-WI), Jon Porter (R-NV), and Dave Reichert (R-WA), returned yesterday from a bipartisan congressional delegation (CODEL) trip to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Vienna, Austria. The trip focused on two issues: bringing the focus of America's military efforts back to defeating Al Qaeda and other terrorists in Afghanistan and enacting policies to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
Members released the following statement:
“After visiting these nations, we came away in agreement that it is in the strategic interests of the United States to continue working with our NATO allies and the Afghan people to develop and strengthen their own capabilities to defeat terrorists in that region.
“Our NATO allies must show a serious commitment to fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda, without limitations that undermine the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission. The Afghan government must also demonstrate an ability to help sustain the security gains achieved by our men and women in uniform and provide both national and personal security to the Afghan people.
“We saw the impacts on Afghanistan of violence in Pakistan’s northwest border areas and came away united in believing the U.S. should continue to work with Pakistan to defeat the growing insurgency in that region.
“Security in this region is critical to global security and to U.S. strategic interests. While remote, Afghanistan and Pakistan are strategically positioned between Iran, Russia, and China, who are ready to leverage their influence if we and our allies fail to lead.
“We must work with our allies to strengthen the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), because there is no greater danger than the potential spread of nuclear weapons technology. We cannot tackle the challenges of tomorrow with yesterday's tools. Reducing the threat of nuclear proliferation is a global imperative that requires U.S. leadership, and we are committed to acting to achieve that.”
In Afghanistan, the CODEL met with President Hamid Karzai, General David McKiernan, Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and Major General Robert Cone, Commanding General of the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A). The group also visited a Regional Training Center in Jalalabad for developing the Afghan National Police force.
In Pakistan the CODEL met with Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chief of the Army Staff, and Lieutenant General Khalid Kidwai, Director General of Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division, which maintains responsibility for the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.
In Vienna the CODEL met with the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Tiber Toth, and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohammed El Baradei.
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