Pelosi Statement Following Meeting with Afghan President Karzai
Pelosi Statement Following Meeting with Afghan President Karzai
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Contact:Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami, 202-226-7616
Kabul, Afghanistan â€" Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement after meeting today in Afghanistan with President Hamid Karzai:
"For the past two days, I have led an eight Member House delegation to Afghanistan to visit U.S. troops. The first overseas trip I take as Speaker in each new session of Congress is to thank our brave men and women for their service, sacrifice, and patriotism.
"While in Afghanistan, the delegation met with U.S. military leaders, and the U.S. Diplomatic team in Kabul to better assess the best course of action to further our national security interests in preparation for the completion of President Obama's strategic review of the Afghanistan policy.
"The Congressional delegation also met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is sending his own advisors to Washington as part of the review process. President Karzai asked for no commitments from the Speaker's delegation, and none were provided.
"In the meeting, delegation Members pressed President Karzai on issues of concern, including:
• The continued corruption and lack of effectiveness by the Afghan police;
• The level of support being provided by allies;
• The resurgence of the Taliban and other terrorist groups;
• How the effort in Afghanistan relates to U.S. national security;
• The need to increase the Afghan leadership role in building communities through vehicles, such as Provincial
Reconstruction Teams;
• Improving efforts to reduce poppy cultivation and crack down on drug trafficking;
• And the need to deal with the threats posed by extremists on both sides of the Afghanistan/Pakistan border."
In addition to the Speaker, the following members of the delegation are: John Larson, Democratic Caucus Chair; George Miller, Chair of the Education and Labor Committee; Rosa DeLauro, Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture; Ed Markey, Chair of Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming; Anna Eshoo, Chair of the House Select Intelligence Subcommittee on Intelligence Community Management; Michael Capuano, Member of the House Financial Services Committee; and Bill Pascrell, Jr., Member of the House Homeland Security Committee.