House Proceeding 10-28-09 on Oct 28th, 2009 :: 0:12:20 to 0:17:05
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0:12:16 to 0:12:36( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: and mr. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into the permitted to address the house for five minutes, to revise and extend their remarks, and include therein extraneous

0:12:20 to 0:17:05( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Lynn C. Woolsey

0:12:37 to 0:13:01( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: material. mr. cummings, maryland. mr. edwards, texas. mr. george miller, california. ms. woolsey, california. mr ms. kaptur, ohio. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. under the speaker's announced

0:13:02 to 0:13:24( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: policy of january 6, 2009, and under a maple leaf order of the house recognized for five minutes each. mr. cummings from maryland. mr. -- gentlelady from california rise? ms. woolsey: i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order. the speaker pro tempore: there is no objection, so ordered. ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, the

0:13:25 to 0:13:45( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: nation's war hawks are unhappy. their feathers are ruffled. they accuse president oba dithering when it comes to sending more troops to afghanistan. they want the president to shoot first and they want him to ask questions later. but committinour nation to war is the most important decision

0:13:46 to 0:14:07( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: that president can make. the commander in chief must think long and hard before doing any such thing. president obama is making a careful review of the situation in afghanistan and he's right to do so. i have had some disagreements with the president about some of his policies so far, but i

0:14:08 to 0:14:28( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: strongly support his desire to think things through and consider all his options before proceeding. so far the only option the united states has tried for the past eight years is option. and it's painfully clear, mr. speaker, that it has not worked. a storin today's "washington

0:14:29 to 0:14:51( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: post" makes a point. it descr u.s. official in afghanistan who resigned his job because he opposed american strategy there. this man is a patriot. and a top former marine who fought with uncommon bravery in iraq. but he believes that the presence of american troops in

0:14:52 to 0:15:13( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: afghanistan is making the insurgency grow. i made a similar argument when i voted against the supplemental appropriations bill for afghanistan back in may. i warned that continuing the military only strategic -- strategy will fuel anti-americanism and that's what's happening. more and more of the afghan people see america as a

0:15:14 to 0:15:35( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: occupying force that cares only about itself. meanwhile, the taliban is doing a much better job of winning hearts and minds. we've got to turn that around. the best way to do that is devote most of our resources in afghanistan to meeting the civilian needs of the afghan people.

0:15:36 to 0:15:57( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: that means humanitarian aid, jobs, and economic development. education, agricultural assistance, better infrastructure, and protection from disease. that doesn't mean we should be ignoring the violent extremists in afghanistan. far from it. we can go after them effective tool of smart power.

0:15:58 to 0:16:20( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: smart power includes better intelligence and surveillance work. the extremists in afghanistan can be found in many small networks of individuals and groups who are spread out over the countryside. you need good intelligence to track, penetrate, and disrupt their activities. we must also build up the civilian police force so they

0:16:21 to 0:16:42( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: can arrest the extremists. strong policing is a highly effective, counterinsurgency tool because it's right there in the villages where the extremists live. we must also step up our diplomatic efforts. we've got to do a better job of engaging all the nations in the region that have an interest in

0:16:43 to 0:17:05( Edit History Discussion )

Lynn C. Woolsey: stabilizing afghanistan. the strategies will work but they won't sea the war hawks. president obama is right to ignore them. he must also ignore the voices of his own administration calling for an escalation of the war. as he rethinks america's role in afghanistan, i urge him to produce a strategy that relies