The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“INTRODUCTION OF THE ``AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN SECURITY AND PROSPERITY ENHANCEMENT ACT''” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1384-E1385 on June 26, 2008.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF THE ``AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN SECURITY AND PROSPERITY
ENHANCEMENT ACT''
_____
HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN
of maryland
in the house of representatives
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Afghanistan-Pakistan Security and Prosperity Enhancement Act. The legislation is a national security bill aimed at protecting our homeland and those of our allies in the fight against AI-Qa'ida and the Taliban. This bill authorizes the President of the United States to designate Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) in Afghanistan and in certain regions of Pakistan. These ROZs will allow qualified businesses duty-free access into U.S. markets for designated products, thereby providing significant employment opportunities where none currently exist. A ROZ program could go a long way to bolster economic development in this critical region of the world where extremists have tried to exploit the lack of economic opportunities to gain recruits for their radical agenda.
The countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan are key to the fight against AI-Qa'ida and its Taliban allies. Al-Qa'ida is the group that masterminded and carried out the deadly terrorist attacks of 9/11 that took the lives of nearly 3,000 Americans. It would have had difficultly doing so if were not given safe-haven by the Taliban, then in control of the Afghan government and much of the country.
The U.S.-led effort to topple the Taliban regime and pursue AI-Qa'ida terrorists in the aftermath of 9/11 initially weakened both of these groups but there are disturbing signs that they are regrouping and strengthening, particularly along the porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The declassified National Intelligence Estimate on ``The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland,'' published in July 2007, stated: ``AI-Qa'ida is and will remain the most serious threat to the Homeland, as its central leadership continues to plan high-impact plots, while pushing others in extremist Sunni communities to mimic its efforts and to supplement its capabilities. We assess the group has protected or regenerated key elements of its Homeland attack capability, including: a safe haven in the Pakistan Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), operational lieutenants, and its top leadership.''
More recently, the State Department's ``Country Reports on Terrorism 2007,'' published in April 2008, noted that ``Afghanistan remained threatened by Taliban and other insurgent groups and criminal gangs, some of whom were linked to [AI-Qa'ida] and terrorist sponsors outside the country.'' The same report also noted that ``Despite the efforts of both Afghan and Pakistani security forces, instability, coupled with the Islamabad brokered ceasefire agreement in effect for the first half of 2007 along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier, appear to have provided [AI-Qa'ida] leadership greater mobility and ability to conduct training and operational planning, particularly targeting Western Europe and the United States.''
Enhanced security efforts by the United States, Pakistan and Afghanistan are needed to disrupt and weaken AI-Qa'ida and the Taliban, but security measures alone will not rid them of these menacing groups--terrorists who continue to want to do us harm and are a threat to democracy and the rule of law. These extremist groups exploit the poor socioeconomic conditions, such as high unemployment, in the border areas, to gain adherents to their nefarious causes. With no meaningful alternatives, young men in particular are vulnerable to their entreaties.
Creative ways must be found to give young Pakistanis and Afghans a positive vision of the future. One such way is to create sustainable jobs in these vulnerable areas so that the promise of a decent living makes more sense than following the warped ideology of the terrorists.
The Reconstruction and Opportunity Zone legislation for Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan does just that. This legislation creates, in essence, special economic zones in these regions, enabling domestic and foreign firms to establish manufacturing enterprises that will bring thousands of good-paying jobs to the people of these areas.
As these troubled regions develop economically, they will diminish the recruiting pool of the terrorists. And as the terrorists find it more difficult to find support and protection among the local populations, they will become more vulnerable to the security forces.
____________________
