March 14, 2002 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Representatives Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma), James Leach (R-Iowa) and Todd Russell Platts (R-Pennsylvania) on Thursday led 22 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of the Army, Thomas White, in support of the U.S. Army’s Peacekeeping Institute (PKI) at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. "As our ongoing war in Afghanistan demonstrates, international issues today require civil-military partnerships as never before," said Reps. Woolsey, Leach and Platts. "Whether it is called peacekeeping, public security or nation-building, the fact is that our success in Afghanistan will depend in part on building social and political stability over the long-term." The Peacekeeping Institute is being threatened with closure as the Army plans to move more personnel from office jobs to the field. The Army initially recommended the elimination of the PKI even though it has a small staff of 10 and runs on an annual budget of about $200,000. "We can’t let shortsightedness hurt the future security of our country," said Rep. Woolsey. "Finding ways to move more uniformed personnel out of desk jobs and into the field is a laudable objective, but if the Peacekeeping Institute is closed, the cost to the success of future military operations far out-weighs the savings." The easiest way to prevent another Somalia is to remember the lessons it taught us," said Rep. Woolsey. "The Peacekeeping Institute is an archive of lessons learned from peace operations since 1993. Without heeding the lessons of the past, we risk sending our military men and women into harms way." "Today’s international issues require new ways to address conflict and the lessons to be learned from the Peacekeeping Institute are essential as we continue to fight our war against terrorism and build a democratic government in Afghanistan," said Rep. Woolsey. "The PKI is the only military organization producing plans to coordinate civilian and military operations and post-conflict handover to civilians. Nothing could be more important to our military and to the success of future operations than the services that the PKI offers." Rep. Woolsey is dedicated to fighting for a better future for our children. She continues to lead her congressional colleagues to improve American foreign policy. She has introduced House resolutions opposing President Bush’s decision to scrap the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and another to start the process of abolishing all nuclear weapons. Rep. Woolsey is also an original co-sponsor of a bill to establish a Peace Department, a federal department dedicated to the development of peace and mitigation of international conflict. ###