Congressman Johnson Calls For New Direction In Afghanistan

Statement

U.S. Rep. Timothy V. Johnson today called for a new direction in Afghanistan, a direction that focuses on a responsible withdrawal of U.S. Forces and a strategy of counter-terrorism as opposed to counter-insurgency. His statement follows:

"The war is becoming increasingly deadly to our troops and to the people of Afghanistan, increasingly costly to the taxpaying public, and increasingly futile. I am opposed to our troops being mired in an endless war trying to achieve an end with no definition.

"I am not alone in my analysis. Recently, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, referred to the situation in Afghanistan as ‘serious and deteriorating.' The Taliban is becoming increasingly resistant, Al Qaeda more elusive, and the corrupted Afghanistan government less stable by the day.

"The brave men and women of the U.S. military should be commended for the admirable job they are doing under difficult conditions. I want to provide our troops with the resources they deserve to conduct missions they have a chance of completing. However, it has become clear to me that after eight years, the United States must cease the sacrifice of American lives to a war with no end. Genius, as conservative columnist George Will wrote in assessing the Afghanistan war, sometimes consists of knowing when to stop.

"In March of this year, President Obama authorized an additional 21,000 troops for Afghanistan, bringing the expected total of boots on the ground to 68,000 by the end of this year.

"The Obama Administration is currently considering a new strategy that includes the request from the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, for an additional 40,000 American troops. President Obama's plans remain unknown.

I strongly oppose another increase, consistent with my opposition to the 2010 Defense Appropriation bill, which includes $128.3 billion in contingency funds to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We cannot remain in Afghanistan or Iraq forever. The Soviet Union spent nearly a decade mired in Afghanistan with troop levels consistently around 110,000, similar to what the U.S. and NATO will have there this year. We are repeating their history, toward an uncertain end. The focus needs to be on reducing this costly exposure.

"I am a cosponsor of legislation that would require Defense Secretary Robert Gates to submit a report to Congress outlining the United States exit strategy for our military forces in Afghanistan. H.R. 2404 was introduced by Representative James McGovern (D-MA) and me and offered as an amendment to the FY 2010 Defense Authorization bill, but was defeated by a vote of 138-278.

"I also was a signatory to a letter to President Obama on Sept. 25, along with 57 other Congressmen from both sides of the aisle, urging the President to reject troop increases.

"The decision to send our people into harm's way is not, and should never be, made lightly. After the 9/11 attacks, engaging Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom was the correct judgment. Our objective was to overthrow the corrupt Taliban regime for providing safe haven to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda terrorists.

"At least 870 U.S. soldiers have died in Afghanistan, a quarter of those in 2009 alone. The evidence of our aimlessness there mounts daily. We are concluding the deadliest month ever for American soldiers since the war began. Just last week, one of our respected foreign service officers in Afghanistan, Matthew Hoh, quit in protest of this futile strategy.

"We have spent nearly $227 billion on military operations and reconstruction for this war. It costs U.S. taxpayers an astonishing $1 billion for every 1,000 troops deployed. However, our own timid, self-imposed rules of engagement handcuff our military from achieving progress. Our strategies have proved futile.

"I believe we must contain terrorism. We must keep those who wish us harm on the defensive. A growing number of military strategists agree that such containment can be achieved through other means. The use of satellite intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, targeted airstrikes and so-called hunter-killer Special Forces along the Pakistan border are options that have technological military superiority, which have not been widely exploited, and which will keep our enemies on their heels while sparing thousands of U.S. ground troops from peril.

"Conventional warfare has no place in this conflict. The strategy of counter-insurgency is a crusade of inertia that will keep us there indefinitely, with indefinite purpose. Terrorism is global. Terror cells exist everywhere, from India to the Phillipines to Philadelphia. There is evidence that the Al Qaeda have even quit Afghanistan and today we are fighting local Taliban units bent on protecting their homeland. The kind of terrorism we seek to stop cannot be fought with tanks and battalions of troops. It must be fought with superior intelligence and technology.

"I do not believe the price of sending the tens-of-thousands of additional troops it may take to attack the Taliban, not to mention the billions in additional funding, is worth paying. I urge President Obama and my colleagues in Congress to take immediate steps to begin a responsible withdrawal from Afghanistan."

U.S. Rep. Timothy V. Johnson, R-Urbana, is a fifth-term congressman representing the 15th Congressional District of Illinois.

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