Timetable for Afghanistan key to broader security strategy (Sen. Russ Feingold)

Pursuing al Qaeda’s Global Network

The U.S. cannot continue to jump from one perceived “central front in
the war on terror” to the next, nor should we invest our resources this
way.  Al Qaeda, its affiliates and sympathizers will continue to look
for new safe havens in places like Yemen, Somalia, North Africa and
elsewhere around the globe.  Rather than investing a disproportionate
amount of our resources into Afghanistan, where al Qaeda now has a
limited presence, we should transition to a more sustainable
counter-terrorism approach for the region and shift resources to more
aggressively pursue al Qaeda’s global network.  Ending al Qaeda’s safe
haven in Pakistan remains a top priority, but a massive military
presence in Afghanistan won’t accomplish this, and could actually
contribute to further destabilization of Pakistan.

Rather than spending $100 billion in Afghanistan in one year, primarily
on military operations, we should provide assistance to the people of
Afghanistan to fight corruption and support the emergence of more
responsive and capable government institutions that can address
socioeconomic and political issues feeding instability.  And we must
retain a capability for targeted counterterrorism efforts, consistent
with a strategy to fight al Qaeda around the world.

Improving Our Intelligence Capacity

We need better intelligence about al Qaeda and its affiliates. Conditions around the world that allow al Qaeda to operate are often
apparent to State Department and other officials who gather information
openly, and do not necessarily require clandestine collection of
intelligence. But the information that these officials collect is not
being fully integrated with the work done by the intelligence
community. Unless we reform how our government collects, reports and
analyzes information from around the world, we will remain a step
behind al Qaeda’s global network.

Improving the Reach of our Diplomats

Where U.S. diplomats have limited presence, we will we never truly
understand what is going on in a country or region, and we won’t be
able to build relationships with the local population. We need to
increase our diplomatic access to important countries and regions by,
for example, establishing new embassy posts, such as in northern
Nigeria.

Addressing Conditions that Enable Al Qaeda and Its Affiliates to Recruit and Operate

I support initiatives and policies to address local conditions in
places like Yemen that continue to enable al Qaeda affiliates and
sympathizers to recruit and operate. Congress has passed legislation I
authored to develop a comprehensive stabilization and reconstruction
strategy for Somalia, a nation where al Shebaab, a terrorist group with
ties to al Qaeda, has grown and strengthened. Instead of seeing the
fight against al Qaeda as a largely military operation, we must
recognize the importance of a comprehensive, global counterterrorism
strategy that emphasizes security sector reform, human rights, economic
development, transparency, good governance, accountability, and the
rule of law.