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Foreign Affairs
George supports fundamental human rights, including improving access to education for people around the globe. He strongly supports Israel’s right to exist and a two-state solution in the Middle East. He voted against going to war in Iraq and has been calling for U.S. troops to come home from Afganistan.
Afghanistan and Pakistan
George has traveled in his official capacity as a Congressman to the region several times in the last four years to meet with our troops, U.S. military leaders and with foreign dignitaries. In 2009, he was invited to the White House by President Obama to brief the President on his perspective of the situation in Afghanistan.
George has repeatedly called for the safe and speedy withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan – he believes our troops should be home before the end of 2013 and has sponsored legislation that would allow continued funding only for the safe, swift and responsible redeployment of American servicemembers.
Earlier this year, President Obama announced combat operations in Afghanistan would be complete by the end of 2014 – a timetable that George called “too long.” He understands that resolving the situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a complicated endeavor but believes that the U.S. should concentrate on counter-intelligence operations in the region, not more boots on the ground.
The war in Afghanistan is now in its eleventh year -- the longest war in American history -- and costs more than $100 billion per year. Corruption and infighting in the Afghan government, coupled with Afghan soldiers and police, who in many instances have been dangerously unreliable, make for an untenable situation that must be addressed with a new plan that does not depend on a prolonged presence of American troops.
Israel and Palestine
Israel has always been a close friend and ally of the United States and will always be a close friend and ally of the United States - the two countries share many goals and values, including a strong commitment to a vibrant democracy and diverse economy.
George is supportive of the formation of a lasting two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian people that ensures a safe, democratic and Jewish Israel and a viable state for the Palestinian people. He believes that both sides must come together and resolve their differences through direct talks. In addition, George has praised President Obama and his Administration for their work to try to ward off unilateral attempts to circumvent the negotiating process.
Human Rights
George has been a longtime advocate for improved human rights conditions around the world.
He has worked hard to protect workers’ rights in Colombia, where trade unionists have been killed, threatened, intimidated and otherwise denied their core labor rights guaranteed by international law. He is one of the founding members of the Congressional Monitoring Group on Labor Rights in Colombia, which was formed after the passage of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement to monitor Colombia’s compliance with the provisions of the agreement that are intended to protect labor rights.
George is also one of the leading voices in Congress against repression of Tibet by the Chinese government. He met with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India in 2008 to discuss problems facing the Tibetan people. Since then, he has sponsored bipartisan legislation that would provide immigrant visas to certain Tibetans and to call on the Chinese government to end religious control regulations of Tibetans and release political prisoners.