Afghanistan & Iraq

I grew up in a military family and know the challenges and hardships that come with military service.  As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I have made it one of my top priorities to meet with our troops on the ground who are responsible for implementing and carrying out the President’s policies in Afghanistan and Iraq.  I have made four trips to Afghanistan and two to Iraq as a member of Congress.  Each time I have been moved by the professionalism, dedication and skill of our armed forces.

Afghanistan

Shortly following the attacks of September 11^th, American military forces were deployed to Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaeda forces and remove the radical and brutal Taliban regime from power.  Our armed forces made tremendous strides in disposing of the Taliban and helping to support the establishment of a freely elected Afghan government.  We began to assist the Afghans with the considerable task of developing their country into a stable state.  However, after a short-lived success, our resources and manpower in Afghanistan were soon diverted to fight an unnecessary war in Iraq.

Because of the diversion of resources and focus to Iraq, the security and political situation in Afghanistan deteriorated and the circumstances now present are markedly different than those that characterized our original entry in 2001.  The Taliban is now resurgent in many areas of Afghanistan and the ungovernable area between Afghanistan and Pakistan has become a breeding ground and safe haven for al-Qaeda.  We are also dealing with a leader in President Hamid Karzai who is seen near universally as corrupt and ineffective, an Afghan national security force that is still not yet ready to provide security even after 10 years of training, and a difficult relationship with Pakistan, whose commitment to defend its western border and defeating the Taliban and other terrorist groups in its own country is unclear.  All of these challenges threaten to dramatically destabilize the region and undermine U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. 

As a result, and as I have stated many times, the challenges in Afghanistan are not just of a military nature, but also necessitate long term diplomatic, reconstruction and development efforts.      

President Obama has now put in place a timetable for the withdrawal of our forces from Afghanistan which I think we must adhere to if not accelerate.  We have been in Afghanistan for nearly a decade, it is now the longest U.S. military commitment in history, and we are spending billions of dollars a month there. 

Last year, I opposed the President’s request for supplemental funds to support the deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan because of the Administration’s continued inability to explain how our current strategy addresses the myriad challenges we face in Afghanistan, and how those challenges would be overcome with the additional resources they sought.  During the past year and a half, I have repeatedly asked in Committee hearings, during trips to Afghanistan, and in other venues how our current strategy would bring regional stability, the length of time and the troop levels that such a commitment would require, and a clear explanation of what our exit strategy would be. 

Even if we accept the premise that the military goals are attainable in the time frame that has been put forth, in order for those gains to have any sort of lasting effect we will need a government in Afghanistan that is stable, an Afghan security force that can stand on its own, and economic development that allows the country to sustain itself.

That is why in March 2011, I voted for a resolution introduced by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) which would have required all US armed forces to be redeployed from Afghanistan by December 31, 2011. 

I have made it a priority as a member of the Armed Services Committee to visit Afghanistan as frequently as possible to observe our efforts there firsthand.  These visits offer the invaluable experience of hearing directly from our troops on the ground who are putting their lives on the line everyday to wage this war.  One soldier I talked with during a visit said that she had a six-month old baby at home and her one-year deployment in Afghanistan means that she will not see him again until he is a year and a half.  She is just one of the tens of thousands of servicemembers who go without seeing their family and loved ones for months on end, highlighting the extraordinary sacrifice that accompanies military service and underscoring the necessity of an exit strategy.

In May, I made my fourth trip to Afghanistan since taking office and our delegation met with an impressive group of Afghan women to talk about their ability to participate in the rebuilding process and their struggle for basic rights.  Afghan women are still a very small percentage of the Afghan government.  The government has made some recent strides in bringing women into the process, but overall it has been hesitant to embrace a broader, meaningful role for women.

As Afghanistan faces a still very uncertain future, its government cannot ignore 50% of their population or turn back the clock on the gains achieved for women and girls.  As our military effort begins to wind down, women must be part of the peace process going forward. Afghan women will play a critical role in creating a stable Afghanistan and securing for the long term their right to participate in their country’s public life.

War is a life-changing event, and I am reminded of this whenever I visit with patients at Walter Reed and with other wounded warriors in Massachusetts.  During a trip to the VA Hospital in Bedford, I visited with veterans in their 60s and 70s who still bore the wounds of war, and I couldn’t help but wonder how many of our young men and women now serving so skillfully and selflessly, might someday be facing these same life-altering challenges.  

I will continue to press the Administration for a clear regional strategy that provides the American people with a full understanding of the anticipated sacrifice and commitment in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to deny terrorist organizations a safe haven in the region.

I will continue to work to see that our troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq have access to lightweight body armor, and that resources are in place to detect the hidden wounds of war such as PTSD when they come home.

• To read my op-ed about my visit to Afghanistan, please click here.
• To learn more about my efforts to support our veterans and their families, please click here.
• To learn more about my efforts to improve body armor for servicemembers, please click here.

Iraq

Since being elected to Congress, I have supported the establishment of a clear timetable for the redeployment of forces from Iraq, and for the transfer of the responsibility of security from our military to the Iraqis. In 2008, the first piece of legislation I introduced was the Iraq Redeployment Timetable and Political Reconciliation Act of 2008. This legislation would have set a timetable for the responsible redeployment of our armed forces and facilitated engagement with the international community to bring about a political solution to this conflict.

In August 2010, President Barack Obama announced the end of the American combat mission in Iraq. He announced that “we’ve removed nearly 100,000 U.S. troops from Iraq, closed or transferred to the Iraqis hundreds of bases, and we have moved millions of pieces of equipment out of Iraq.”

Since that time, a transitional force of U.S. troops have remained in Iraq to advise and assist Iraq’s Security Forces, support Iraqi troops in targeted counterterrorism missions, and protect our civilians. Our agreement with the Iraqi government is that all U.S. troops will leave by the end of this year.

As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I have had the privilege of visiting with our brave men and women serving in Iraq twice, most recently in April of 2009, during a bipartisan Congressional delegation trip I led to the region.  Over the course of this visit I met with senior military leaders, including Generals Raymond Odierno and David McKiernan, State Department personnel and civilian leaders. 

The dedicated men and women of the armed forces deserve our undying respect and gratitude for their outstanding service in Iraq. Our fighting forces are the greatest in the world and we have seen great progress, including rebuilt neighborhoods and schools, improved infrastructure and services, and the growth of a more competent and capable Iraqi security force.

I believe we should remain true to the agreement we made with the Iraqi government to leave by the end of this year. That is why I sent a letter to President Obama with 90 of my colleagues, urging him to redeploy all of our armed forces and military contractors from Iraq by the deadline of December 31, 2011.  This letter, which was sent to the President on July 22, 2011, expressed concern with reports that the Administration is considering plans to keep potentially thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq beyond the end of this year.  I believe that extending our presence in Iraq is counterproductive since the Iraqi people do not support our continued occupation.  Remaining in Iraq would only strengthen the perception that we are an occupying force and could incite further violence.

Challenges clearly remain in Iraq, but the skill of our brave men and women have allowed us to bring the war to a responsible conclusion. Now, the Iraqi people must take the next step in establishing an effective and efficient government that can resolve differences, provide security, and improve services and infrastructure.

• To read the President's remarks regarding responsibly ending the war in Iraq, please click here.
• To see my efforts to ensure that the Iraqi nationals who risked their lives to support our soldiers in Iraq and were forced to flee their country because of threats of violence receive the same assistance as refugees from other parts of the world who seek asylum in the United States, please click here.