Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, 8 years ago, in the wake of the worst terrorist attack that we have ever faced in America's history, the United States sent troops to Afghanistan. These troops were sent to accomplish a difficult mission, but an achievable mission, and despite the gains that have been made to date, our mission has not been properly resourced and executed.
As such, 8 years later, the fight rages on and terrorists are still plotting to hijack our planes, blow up our bridges, wreak havoc on our cities, and murder innocent people. So the threat has not changed. Afghanistan remains a crucial theater in the war against terrorism and extremists who seek to destroy our way of life, and it deserves our utmost attention and adequate resources.
To his credit, President Obama recognizes that the war in Afghanistan does need these greater resources, but some within his administration and party are advocating a ``small footprint'' strategy, calling for a reduction in the number of U.S. troops on the ground and a sole focus on al Qaeda only, instead of on the Taliban-led insurgent coalition.
But a ``small footprint'' strategy did not work in Iraq. What did work was a robust counter insurgency strategy backed by the surge of American troops. In fact, it was this strong presence of American soldiers in Iraq that encouraged Iraqis to come forward with valuable intelligence, which in turn led to more effective targeting of al Qaeda and other insurgent groups.
My colleagues, this can be done in Afghanistan, but it also must include support from our European allies and other freedom-loving countries who desire to rid the world of terrorism.
General McChrystal, the U.S. Commander in Afghanistan, is advocating an expanded military effort within a new counter insurgency strategy that focuses on protecting Afghans from the intimidation tactics of the Taliban through a troop surge.
General McChrystal is a highly capable and accomplished officer with extensive counter insurgency experience. Yesterday he warned that we need more forces within the next year and that without them, our mission in Afghanistan will ``likely result in failure.''
When it comes to military strategy, we should listen to those who know firsthand what the situation on the ground is in Afghanistan. But, my colleagues, we must also look at the political infrastructure of Afghanistan and be sure its political leaders are representing the best interests of the Afghan people and that political corruption is eliminated.
It is clear that the Afghan military needs our help--and our numbers. But currently there are only 173,000 men in the Afghan army and police. Compare that with Iraq. In that country, which is smaller and less populated, there are over 600,000 Iraqi army and police. Clearly we need to train more Afghan military personnel.
Unfortunately, though, for the past 8 years Afghanistan has not been a properly resourced war. The new strategy proposed by General McChrystal and General David Petraeus is focused on expanding and improving Afghan forces with better training and embedded advisers and forming a true partnership and trust between Afghan units and American units, with the end goal of growing the Afghan army and police to the point where U.S. troops could be reduced dramatically.
But before we put more American troops in Afghanistan, we need a more deliberate plan with the Afghan military that includes participation by our allies and adequate support from the Afghan people and legitimate political leaders.
The reality of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan is that it would take another 2 years to expand Afghanistan's forces to around 300,000 personnel. Experts suggest at least 360,000 Afghan troops and police are needed to adequately fight the counter insurgency and to effectively police the country's 33 million inhabitants. This is the key to our success.
One thing we must not forget is that a withdrawal at this critical juncture would destabilize Pakistan, an ally in a region of instability and a country in possession of nuclear weapons.
So, my colleagues, we need a new strategy that can work, but this new strategy can work only if we ask for patience from the American people and the knowledge that a mission of this magnitude and importance is not going to be won overnight or from afar. The sacrifices we make overseas now will prevent another 9/11-style attack here at home in the future.