| The House Armed Services Committee will be holding a hearing tomorrow at 10:30am, U.S. Strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan: Balancing Interests and Resources.
Here's a chance for Rob Andrews to ask some tough questions and show he meant what he said during his primary run, at least regarding his about-face on Iraq.
United for Peace and Justice is asking people to call members of the committee and Committee Chair Ike Skelton with a couple of questions for the panel. UFPJ notes that there is no panelist who clearly opposes the wars.
Rep. Rob Andrews 202-225-6501 or 856-546-5100
Rep. Ike Skelton 202-225-2876
House Armed Services Committee 202-225-4151
1) What do you predict the total dollar costs for Iraq and Afghanistan to be to the U.S. economy? Did Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz underestimate when he calculated three trillion dollars for Iraq alone? How can you justify spending many millions of hard-earned dollars every day in Iraq and Afghanistan when the U.S. economy is suffering and so many of our people are out of work?
2) The Taliban is on the rise again. Living conditions for the average Afghan have not changed much. The U.S. military has killed at least 4,800 civilians in Afghanistan, representing 79% of the total civilian casualties in the war. Is U.S. military action in Afghanistan harming our national interests by turning the people against us? How has U.S. military action in Afghanistan increased the security of the region and the people of our country?
3) A policy of the former Bush administration allowed for drone attacks to occur in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The continued drone attacks are contributing toward anti-American animosity without accomplishing much. Wouldn't it help reduce the tension and improve the quality of life to ban drone attacks entirely?
The panel will be:
Anthony Cordesman, Ph.D
Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Stephen Biddle, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow for Defense Policy, Council on Foreign Relations
The Honorable Zalmay Khalilzad
Counselor, Center for Strategic and International Studies
General Jack Keane (ret.)
Former Vice Chief of Staff, United States Army
Janet St. Laurent
Managing Director, Defense Capabilities and Management Team, GAO
Andrews staff will probably listen more to constituents even though he is our only Rep from NJ on Armed Services, so anyone can call (hint to those who helped him out in the primary).
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