Today I introduced bipartisan legislation, along with Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC), requiring a timetable to draw down U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The legislation is one component of a comprehensive national security strategy to defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates around the world. Below are several key elements of the strategy, which include improving our intelligence capacity, pursuing al Qaeda's global network, improving the reach of our diplomats and addressing the conditions that enable al Qaeda to thrive.
Pursuing al Qaeda's Global Network
The U.S. cannot continue to jump from one perceived "central front in the war on terror" to the next, nor should we invest our resources this way. Al Qaeda, its affiliates and sympathizers will continue to look for new safe havens in places like Yemen, Somalia, North Africa and elsewhere around the globe. Rather than investing a disproportionate amount of our resources into Afghanistan, where al Qaeda now has a limited presence, we should transition to a more sustainable counter-terrorism approach for the region and shift resources to more aggressively pursue al Qaeda's global network. Ending al Qaeda's safe haven in Pakistan remains a top priority, but a massive military presence in Afghanistan won't accomplish this, and could actually contribute to further destabilization of Pakistan.
Rather than spending $100 billion in Afghanistan in one year, primarily on military operations, we should provide assistance to the people of Afghanistan to fight corruption and support the emergence of more responsive and capable government institutions that can address socioeconomic and political issues feeding instability. And we must retain a capability for targeted counterterrorism efforts, consistent with a strategy to fight al Qaeda around the world.
Improving Our Intelligence Capacity
We need better intelligence about al Qaeda and its affiliates. Conditions around the world that allow al Qaeda to operate are often apparent to State Department and other officials who gather information openly, and do not necessarily require clandestine collection of intelligence. But the information that these officials collect is not being fully integrated with the work done by the intelligence community. Unless we reform how our government collects, reports and analyzes information from around the world, we will remain a step behind al Qaeda's global network.
Improving the Reach of our Diplomats
Where U.S. diplomats have limited presence, we will we never truly understand what is going on in a country or region, and we won't be able to build relationships with the local population. We need to increase our diplomatic access to important countries and regions by, for example, establishing new embassy posts, such as in northern Nigeria.
Addressing Conditions that Enable Al Qaeda and Its Affiliates to Recruit and Operate
I support initiatives and policies to address local conditions in places like Yemen that continue to enable al Qaeda affiliates and sympathizers to recruit and operate. Congress has passed legislation I authored to develop a comprehensive stabilization and reconstruction strategy for Somalia, a nation where al Shebaab, a terrorist group with ties to al Qaeda, has grown and strengthened. Instead of seeing the fight against al Qaeda as a largely military operation, we must recognize the importance of a comprehensive, global counterterrorism strategy that emphasizes security sector reform, human rights, economic development, transparency, good governance, accountability, and the rule of law.
Cross-posted from The Hill
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We resisted the influence of theSoviet Union around the world for 40 years, waiting for it to collapse, which it eventually did. We must be willing to do the same against Islamofascism until that particular fever breaks.
Al-Qaeda was started to oppose US because of US military base in Saudi Arabia, the holly land from Bin Laden point of view.
Saudi Arabia was also Bin Laden's homeland and US military base their might have touched his nationalism ego to some extend as well.
This is the reason he stated when he first attacked world trade center unsuccessfully in 1993 and again in 2001.
Maybe we just need to make a reasonably effort in a certain time frame and get out.
Please propose a law, sir, to criminalize campaign contribution 'bundling' - thereby making lobbyists' jobs as 'bribery middle-men' ...obsolete.
Karzai was arrested in a peace attempt in 1994, the Taliban’s usual response to later attempts was that they wouldn’t negotiate with a traitor. Let’s cheer, not fear, recent peace talks and the upcoming May 2, giant peace gathering. Google Western Peace Activists Ignore Real Afghan Peace Efforts.
1. Get out of Afghanistan and Iraq
2. A 1% sales tax for 5 years - call it the Bush/Cheney tax, placing the blame where it belongs.
Forget about 3 cups of tea. Let's capitulate, give them exactly what they want, and end up winning!
Let's give every single Muslim family on the planet an HDTV and their choice of Wii, Xbox, or Playstation.
That's what success ultimately looks like, so let's short circuit the whole war nation building exhausting ordeal and be done with it.
(Note to big deal think tanks and planners - use this scenario in your next asymmetric gaming exercises...)