Congressman Geoff Davis : Serving Kentucky's Fourth District

Iraq and Afghanistan

Rep. Geoff Davis brings Capt. Joe Geraci, commander of A Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, chili from home during a visit to Afghanistan. The Kentucky congressman introduced legislation to equalize the disability retirement pay for all service members whether they served on active duty or in the reserve components.

In 2005, I led a Congressional Delegation trip to Iraq and Afghanistan. Although I was unable to meet with the soldiers of the 940th MP Company of Kentucky, who were stationed in the southern part of Iraq at the time, I was still able to make sure they received a taste of home. With the help of UPS and Skyline Chili, six cases of Skyline Chili were delivered to the soldiers. Getting the Skyline Chili to the soldiers was a small way for me to express my appreciation and support for the soldiers who are sacrificing a great deal to keep us safe. Our troops are doing an amazing job in Iraq and elsewhere around the world protecting us, and it’s critical that they know we here at home support them.

As a former Army officer who served in a Middle-East peacekeeping operation, I am deeply concerned about our troops and their families. I have friends and West Point classmates serving in the war against radical Islam. Rest assured, I am working every day to ensure that our troops have the tools and training they need to accomplish the mission and return home as soon as possible.

AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan is critical in the war against radical Islam. The Taliban, operating in Afghanistan, is a tough, resourceful, and resilient enemy. In cooperation with our NATO partners we must continue to conduct vigorous counterinsurgency operations; train, advise, assist, and expand the Afghan National Army and National Police; conduct development activities; and work with the government of Pakistan to eliminate, or at least severely restrict, Taliban base areas in northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan.

For years, I have argued our Army and Marine Corps have been too small to fight both the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq. Fortunately, as we begin drawing down our forces in Iraq, we will be able to begin deploying additional forces to deal with the increasingly serious situation in Afghanistan.

However, while increasing our forces there, we must also continue to encourage our NATO partners and other allied nations to shoulder an increasing share of the burden for Afghanistan’s security and reconstruction.

Our efforts, along with our allies’, have resulted in noteworthy gains for the Afghan people. For example, ninety-eight percent of boys and sixty-eight percent of girls in Regional Command East, where most U.S. troops are stationed, now attend school. The legitimate Afghan economy is growing faster than the narco-economy, and for the first time in ten years, the grain harvest was sufficient to meet domestic consumption. Further, the infant mortality rate has declined by twenty-six percent in the past five years. Both are significant indicators of progress in Afghanistan.

I am encouraged by the administration’s early initiatives with regard to Afghanistan and hope they will have the political will to sustain these efforts.

According to an inter-agency “White Paper,” U.S. goals in Afghanistan are to: (1) disrupt terrorist networks in Afghanistan; (2) promote a more capable, accountable, and effective government in Afghanistan; (3) develop self-reliant Afghan security forces that can lead the counter-insurgency; and (4) involve the international community to actively assist in addressing these objectives. In support of these goals, 17,000 additional U.S. combat troops will be deployed in early 2009 and 4,000 additional U.S. military personnel will be deployed in mid-2009 in order to meet the security demands of Afghanistan’s August elections.

I will continue to closely monitor the situation in Afghanistan to ensure our troops have all they need to be victorious and that our tax dollars for Afghan reconstruction are spent wisely.

IRAQ

Since General Petraeus’ new
strategy was implemented in
2007, violence in Iraq has
declined and terrorists have
been denied safe havens. In
addition, the Iraqi Council of
Representatives and the
Presidency Council have enacted
  a budget and passed important
laws to bring political reconciliation
  to Iraq. Perhaps most importantly,
the government of Iraq has made
  significant progress on the political, economic and military benchmarks established in 2007. In particular, the Iraqi government now generally responds on its own initiative to restore security to the country. It is far from perfect, but the situation in Iraq is demonstratively better than it was in January 2007 when the “surge” of U.S. forces into Iraq began.

Both from an operational and from a cost standpoint, Iraqis need to understand that our commitment is not open-ended. It is the ultimate responsibility of the Iraqis to defend their nation, and the training of Iraqi security forces should be completed as soon as possible. Iraqi security forces must continue to assume the lead in operations against insurgents, sectarian militias and other forces that pose a threat to Iraq’s future. The Iraqis are making progress in this regard.

On November 26, 2008, the Government of Iraq passed a significant milestone by signing a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States. The SOFA requires the withdrawal of all U.S. combat forces from Iraqi cities, villages and localities no later than June 30, 2009 and the withdrawal of all U.S. forces no later than December 31, 2011. Additionally, U.S. forces will begin a process of turning custody of all Iraqi detainees over to Iraqi control. This agreement is tangible evidence that the Government of Iraq has the political fortitude to accept substantial responsibility for the country’s security.

By January 2009, U.S. forces had drawn down to pre-surge levels. If the current positive trends continue, we will be able to safely continue the drawdown of our forces with the goal of turning over all security to the Iraqi government as soon as possible. However, given the complexities of the political and military situation in Iraq, we must proceed carefully and deliberatively.

Additionally, Iraq is generating significant oil revenue which it can and should use for its security and reconstruction. The trend is moving in that direction. In Fiscal Year 2009 we will spend a total of between two and three billion dollars on Iraqi security forces and reconstruction. For 2009, the Iraqi government plans to spend $21.8 billion on their security forces and reconstruction efforts.

I am pleased that the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2009 contains a provision directing the Administration to initiate negotiations with the Government of Iraq on an agreement under which the Government of Iraq will share with us the costs of combined operations by forces of the two nations. Additionally, this legislation requires the Administration to take actions to ensure that Iraqi funds are used to pay the costs of the salaries, training, equipping and sustainment of the Iraqi Security Forces.

FUNDING FOR OUR TROOPS

In September 2008, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. This legislation reflects a continued commitment to ensuring that the men and women who serve in the U.S. military have the resources they need to continue protecting the security of our nation.

The NDAA ensures that our service men and women and their families receive important benefits. The bill includes a 3.9% pay raise for all members of the armed forces. This will continue efforts to reduce the pay discrepancy between the uniformed service and the private sector. The bill also provides tuition support for military spouses.

The NDAA (S. 3001) passed the House of Representatives on September 24, 2008, by a vote of 392-39 (Roll Call Vote 631). The legislation passed in the Senate on September 27, 2008 and signed into law on October 14, 2008. I was very pleased to support this legislation which is a significant achievement in support of American service members around the world.

To learn more about my support of America’s veterans and warriors, click HERE.