Pakistan War Powers Resolution

Floor Speech

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Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H. Con. Res. 301, which would direct the President to withdraw U.S. Armed Forces from Pakistan within 30 days or, if the President deems it not safe within 30 days, to withdraw the troops by December 31, 2010.

Let me state unequivocally, I strongly support a vigorous debate on this matter, especially in light of the documents made available by WikiLeaks. I worry about leaks of classified information, especially when leaks could put our nation and our troops in harm's way. That said, the documents appear to make clear what we already knew, we are involved in a very messy and difficult war in the region.

This is something that President Obama realized when he ordered a new strategy in Afghanistan. For eight years I called on President George W. Bush to increase our resources devoted to the War in Afghanistan, which I don't need remind anyone is the nation from which the September 11th attacks were launched. There were many others arguing the same thing. Finally, with President Obama we got serious policy review and a real strategy. It has been just 18 months since the President's speech at West Point which aptly reminded the nation that a very real threat still exists. Moreover, the additional 30,000 troops called for in that speech will not be fully deployed until September. It would be a mistake to abandon the President's plan now before we allow time for the plan to work. To do so could jeopardize the lives of our American troops.

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