Pelosi Statement on Senator Frist's Comments on the Taliban in Afghanistan

Pelosi Statement on Senator Frist's Comments on the Taliban in Afghanistan

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on Senate Majority Leader Bill First's comments that the Taliban should be included in the government in Afghanistan:

"We went to war in Afghanistan five years ago to crush the Taliban for the role it played in the 9/11 attacks. Senator Frist now suggests that the best way forward in Afghanistan is to coddle the Taliban by welcoming Taliban members into a coalition government, as if 9/11 had never happened.

"The Taliban remain a threat because, as Senator Frist has apparently just learned, President Bush did not finish the job against terrorism in Afghanistan before deciding to launch his ill-advised invasion of Iraq. The consequences of that decision, which the Republican Congressional leaders continue to ignore, are evident everywhere: in the abysmal security situation in Iraq; the unacceptable readiness conditions in our Army and Marine Corps; and the resurgent Taliban. It is long past time that the President refocuses our attention on the war on terror and finishes the job in Afghanistan."

http://democraticleader.house.gov/press/releases.cfm?pressReleaseID=1848