House Proceeding 10-23-09 on Oct 23rd, 2009 :: 0:57:00 to 1:01:50
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0:56:57 to 0:57:17( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: bandit dictator, hugo chavez, and his buddy, manual that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: mr. weiner of new york. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, i ask

0:57:00 to 1:01:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Lynn C. Woolsey

0:57:18 to 0:57:38( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: unanimous consent to speak out of order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for five minutes. ms. woolsey: thank you very much. mr. speaker, afghanistan appears to be headed for a runoff election in the next few the uned states must insist and we must expect that a credible democratic afghan

0:57:39 to 0:58:00( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: government emerges from this political process because so very much is at stake. a democratically elected government in kabul that has the trust of the afghan people is necessary.

0:58:01 to 0:58:21( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: because it is our best weapon in the fight against violent extremism in such a government, a stable, honest government, wod stabilize the country. it would encourage afghanistan's neighbors to engage in a regional diplomatic effort. and it would be the strong

0:58:22 to 0:58:44( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: partner america needs to deliver humanitarian and economic aid to the afghan people. afghanistan desperately needs this aid. it has seen two foreign invasions in the last three decades. and years of political turmoil. afghanistan is also very, very poor. by some measures it is just

0:58:45 to 0:59:07( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: about the poorest country in the world. the united nations issued its annual human development index earlier this month, mr. speaker, and it ranked the countries of the world on criteria such as life expectancy, literacy, school enrollment, and gross domestic product.

0:59:08 to 0:59:28( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: afghanistan ranked 182 countries. next to the last. that's why the united states must put far more emphasis on economic development, reconstruction, humanitarian aid, and improved governance if we are to cceed in afghanistan. to do this we must redouble our

0:59:29 to 0:59:50( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: efforts to bring a civilian surge of aid workers to afghanistan. in fact, president obama anounchingsed this initiative seven months ago -- announced this initiative seven months ago with agreat deal of fanfare but the results have been disappointing. an advisor to governor -- general mcchrystal, our

0:59:51 to 1:00:12( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: commander in afghanistan, told "the new york times" last week that our entire system of delivering aid is broken. and very little of the aid is getting to the afghan people. another advisor says that the effort has been a nightmare and vast amounts of aid money have been wasted. what are the reasons for this

1:00:13 to 1:00:34( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: problem, mr. speaker, is the violence in the country. the aid workers who are on the ground now in afghanistan are brave and truly dedicated. but some of them are understandably reluctant to leave the relatively safe -- relative safety of kabul and venture out into the countryside. there arseveral ways to improve this situation.

1:00:35 to 1:00:55( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: some american military personnel could be directed to protect the aid workers. the united states could step up its efforts to train the afghan army and policies so that they can provide local protection. the white house must also provide better benchmarks for

1:00:56 to 1:01:16( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: measuring the progress of our civilian effort. we must prove that we are doing a better knob of delivering american humanitarian aid, and this can be accomplished with three extremely important goals. it would improve the lives of the afghan people and give them a he reason to reject violence.

1:01:17 to 1:01:38( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: it would demonstrate that america offers the afghan people a better future than the extremists offer them. and it would help to remove the impression that the american army is an occupying army. mr. speaker, if we want to succeed in afghanistan, we must let america's humanitarian

1:01:39 to 1:01:50( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: values shine through. that's the best way to help build a stable afghanistan that can't be used by the taliban or other extremists that threaten