HOUSE VIEWS AFGHAN FUTURE CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS TAKE VARIED STANCES.Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau From veteran cold warriors who want to bring back the Afghan king to lawmakers advocating more limited gains, Southern California's House members bring varied experience and insight into the unfolding war in Afghanistan. All of the region's congressional representatives, including eight on the House Committee on International Relations The Committee on International Relations, also known as CIR, is a one year Masters degree graduate program in the Division of Social Sciences at the University of Chicago. It is the oldest international affairs graduate program in the United States. , share the primary goal of bringing Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden: see bin Laden, Osama. and his fellow terrorists to justice and ousting the Taliban regime that protects them. But, amid concern that the war could become a Vietnam-style quagmire for the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , they are advocating varying long-term strategies. ``We need to destroy the terrorists and their sponsors and a regime that supplies most of the world's opium,'' said Rep. Brad Sherman Bradley J. "Brad" Sherman (born October 24 1954) is an American politician. He has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing California's At-large congressional district. , D-Woodland Hills. ``But it's not clear where we could be all that helpful in setting up a new government. We're not going to able to recreate that country to look like the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. ,'' said Sherman, who serves on the International Relations international relations, study of the relations among states and other political and economic units in the international system. Particular areas of study within the field of international relations include diplomacy and diplomatic history, international law, panel. ``I also don't think there's anyone in Afghanistan who would be eligible for membership in the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. . And when it comes to women's rights The effort to secure equal rights for women and to remove gender discrimination from laws, institutions, and behavioral patterns. The women's rights movement began in the nineteenth century with the demand by some women reformers for the right to vote, known as suffrage, and , you can grade the Taliban at 'F-triple minus' while our Northern Alliance allies rate an 'F.''' Other local members of the House International Relations panel include Reps. Howard Berman, D-Mission Hills; Elton Gallegly, R-Oxnard; Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena; David Dreier, R-Covina; Darrell Issa, R-San Clemente; and Grace Napolitano, D-Montebello. Both Sherman and Schiff credit the broad local representation on the committee to the Southland's diversity and large ethnic enclaves. Berman and Sherman, for example, have concentrated on Mideast peace issues that are of interest to Jewish and Arab-American constituents alike. Schiff has also focused on foreign policy initiatives that are of interest to the large Armenian-American community in the Glendale area. Schiff, who actively sought a slot on the International Relations panel when he joined Congress in January, said he had no set agenda for Afghanistan's future other than ``making it a country that's inhospitable for people who would kill Americans. We need to make sure that 6,000 people didn't die in vain.'' Issa, the grandson of Lebanese immigrants and one of the few members of Congress with family ties to the Middle East, said he understands a conflict that has seen American forces simultaneously dropping bombs and food on Afghanistan. ``Americans tend to be benevolent with their enemies, and we're not going to change. Benevolence BENEVOLENCE, duty. The doing a kind action to another, from mere good will, without any legal obligation. It is a moral duty only, and it cannot be enforced by law. A good wan is benevolent to the poor, but no law can compel him to be so. BENEVOLENCE, English law. is making our job harder, but it doesn't make it impossible.'' Issa also said he thinks it is too early to be overly concerned with Afghanistan's future. ``In World War II we had to completely defeat Germany before we could start rebuilding,'' he said. ``We can't get into nation building in Afghanistan until the Taliban has surrendered and we have free and full access.'' Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, has the distinction of being the only member of Congress to have seen combat in Afghanistan's seemingly endless series of conflicts. In November 1988, soon after his election to Congress, Rohrabacher briefly joined Mujahedeen mu·ja·hi·deen also mu·ja·he·deen or mu·ja·hi·din pl.n. Muslim guerrilla warriors engaged in a jihad. [Arabic or Persian muj forces who were besieging Soviet troops in the Afghan city of Jalalabad. ``The Mujahedeen had been fighting our fight against communism, and I thought it was important to stand up with them,'' said Rohrabacher, who had befriended several Afghan leaders while working as a speech writer for President Ronald Reagan. Wearing a full beard and traditional Afghan clothing, Rohrabacher spent a week at the front lines and was invited by his Mujahedeen hosts to fire several small rockets at Soviet Army positions. ``I saw them hit, and then I immediately had to hit the dirt Verb 1. hit the dirt - fall or drop suddenly, usually to evade some danger; "The soldiers hit the dirt when they heard gunfire" hit the deck move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" as they bombarded us with return fire,'' he recalled. During a recent alliance-building congressional trip to Russia, Rohrabacher informed his hosts of his 1988 exploits. |
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