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“SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H2193 on March 22, 2010.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. JONES. Today, I was going through some of the newspapers on the Internet and I found a very interesting article that I wanted to bring to the floor. This was Newsweek, March 19, 2010, and the title is,
``The Gang That Could Not Shoot Straight.''
Six billion dollars later, the Afghan national police cannot begin to do their jobs right, never mind relieve American forces. I'm going to repeat that. Six billion dollars later, the Afghan national police cannot begin to do their jobs right, never mind relieve American forces.
Mr. Speaker, this is a rather long article, but I just want to read part tonight and I will read some tomorrow night, because I think about the men and women in uniform--God bless them all--over in Afghanistan and Iraq. I think about the situation they're in. I'm not an expert on history, but I know enough about history to know that any nation that ever tried to conquer Afghanistan never did. They basically failed.
From this article: America has spent more than $6 billion since 2002 in an effort to create an effective Afghan police force--buying weapons, building police academies, and hiring defense contractors to train the recruits--but the program has been a disaster. More than $332 million worth of invoices for police training were approved, even though the funds were poorly accounted for according to a government audit, and fewer than 12 percent of the country's police units are capable of operating on their own.
Let me repeat that. More than $332 million worth of invoices for police training were approved, even though the funds were poorly accounted for according to a government audit, and fewer than 12 percent of the country's police units are capable of operating on their own.
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the State Department's top representative in the region, has publicly called the Afghan police an inadequate organization riddled with corruption. I'm going to also repeat that, Mr. Speaker. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the State Department's top representative in the region, has called the Afghan police an inadequate organization riddled with corruption.
During the Obama administration's review of Afghan policy last year, This issue received more attention than any other except for the question of U.S. troop levels, Holbrooke told Newsweek. We drilled down deep into this. The worst of it is that the police are central to Washington's plans for getting out of Afghanistan.
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Mr. Speaker, I will again tomorrow night read another portion of this article. What it is saying--and what we in Congress need to keep in mind, we can't even fix the streets in my home town in eastern North Carolina, yet we're spending billions and billions and billions and billion of dollars in a country that at best is living in the 16th century.
We've debated health care this weekend. We have other issues we'll be debating. And even though these issues are very important to the American people, how in the world can we keep wearing out our troops overseas, spending billions and billions of dollars that we can't even spend here in America?
So, Mr. Speaker, as I do every night because my heart aches for the military and those who have lost their lives, the families, I will ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform. I will ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. I will ask God in His loving arms to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq, and I will ask God to please bless the House and Senate that we will do what is right in the eyes of God.
I will ask God to give strength, wisdom and courage to President Obama that he will do what is right in the eyes of God. And three times I will say, God, please, God, please, God, please, continue to bless America.
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