What the USA is NOT doing to eliminate Violence against Women in Afghanistan.
Not to be blasé about it, but there was never any doubt we were going to be in Afghanistan and Pakistan and maybe even Somalia for quite a while. All three of the remaining presidential contenders supported last year the possibility of increased action.
In front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, SOS Hillary Rodham Clinton (HRC) laid the groundwork for the civilian, NGO and diplomatic core that will follow the military to Afghanistan and Pakistan this year. I saw grousing on the Internet about lack of Alliance support. In fact, the SOS was, after her meeting, to fly to Belgium to attempt just that. I saw grumbling about why we were in the war, and whether Obama had let the Obats down. I read about people like Moore and Hayden tearing off the blinders and refusing to drink the Kool-aid. I continue to be stunned that some of us were so much smarter then they. Then, I heard one soul, over at KDIC, decry this statement, where remarkably, SOS HRC said:
“We are on track to triple the number of civilian positions in Afghanistan to 974 by early next year”.
This is a pitiful number. Truly, the speaker at KDIC is right to be upset that an additional 600 or fewer civilians will be called upon to help the Afghani effort next year. However, the remarkable part of the sentence is that the figure will TRIPLE what is already there.
Our nation has additional responsibilities beyond that of guns and planes. So far in eight years, we have done very little economically and diplomatically to facilitate the emergence of a vital and stable Afghanistan. Beyond that, in light of the 16 days International Campaign Toward the Elimination of Violence against Women, we have failed on another front-Congress.
Let’s not forget the “Afghan Women Empowerment Act of 2007” introduced by Representative Maloney and it’s twin by Senator Boxer, sent to rigor mortis at the respective foreign committees. Oh sure, the Feminist Majority and others have pushed. However, most of the members of Congress haven’t done their part to provide the tiniest measure of help to women in Afghanistan. The bill was reintroduced in April of this year to the house as HR 2214 – Afghan Women Empowerment Act of 2009, and in January as S.229 under the same name. Again it was referred to the relative foreign relations committees. Again it sits.
I linked the house and senate text versions to their numbers above. However, to give you an idea of the bill, the CRS Index terms, which are used to identify key themes in a bill, is the following:
International affairs
Afghanistan
Asia
Foreign aid and international relief
Human rights
International organizations and cooperation
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
Women’s rights
Here is a list of the Senate cosponsors:
Sen Begich, Mark [AK] – 6/1/2009
Sen Burris, Roland [IL] – 9/14/2009
Sen Cantwell, Maria [WA] – 10/26/2009
Sen Cardin, Benjamin L. [MD] – 8/6/2009
Sen Collins, Susan M. [ME] – 7/15/2009
Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] – 7/28/2009
Sen Franken, Al [MN] – 11/4/2009
Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY] – 4/29/2009
Sen Johnson, Tim [SD] – 7/13/2009
Sen Kaufman, Edward E. [DE] – 6/23/2009
Sen Landrieu, Mary L. [LA] – 5/4/2009
Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] – 7/31/2009
Sen Mikulski, Barbara A. [MD] – 4/27/2009
Sen Shaheen, Jeanne [NH] – 10/14/2009
Sen Snowe, Olympia J. [ME] – 7/28/2009
Sen Stabenow, Debbie [MI] – 12/1/2009
Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [RI] – 7/28/2009
Here is a list of the House cosponsors:
Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1] – 9/15/2009
Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2] – 4/30/2009
Rep Brown, Corrine [FL-3] – 7/24/2009
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] – 9/16/2009
Rep Doggett, Lloyd [TX-25] – 9/15/2009
Rep Ellison, Keith [MN-5] – 9/8/2009
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] – 9/8/2009
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] – 9/8/2009
Rep Hodes, Paul W. [NH-2] – 9/8/2009
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] – 7/29/2009
Rep Johnson, Eddie Bernice [TX-30] – 7/28/2009
Rep Michaud, Michael H. [ME-2] – 10/14/2009
Rep Rothman, Steven R. [NJ-9] – 10/20/2009
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9] – 7/28/2009
Rep Schiff, Adam B. [CA-29] – 9/8/2009
Rep Shea-Porter, Carol [NH-1] – 6/3/2009
Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13] – 7/28/2009
Rep Tsongas, Niki [MA-5] – 10/22/2009
Rep Waxman, Henry A. [CA-30] – 9/22/2009
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] – 5/12/2009
Rep Wu, David [OR-1] – 9/8/2009
The allocation of money provided in this bill is a tiny sum compared to the vast amounts we have allocated for the war. The House bill asks for 150 million for each year between 2010 and 2112. The Senate bill asks for a paltry 45 million for the same period. (I know the word paltry is hard to swallow for some of us, but try to keep in mind what we have spent elsewhere this year.)
One cannot have a war without allocating funds to it. Concomitantly, one cannot have a war without provision for the effects upon civilians. Above and beyond that however, is the general question of what we as a country are willing to toward the progress of women as equal partners in the world. Whether or not we leave Afghanistan today, the OTHER war is waging. So, when a bill like this, designed to facilitate civilian impact of the guns and planes, can’t get out of committee, you have to look to other reasons why. Some of the following people are also on the above lists. Many of the following people have inserted viewpoints regarding the Afghan War on their Congressional web pages. Contact them and find out why the bill isn’t part of their statement. Or hey, contact them anyway and tell them YOUR viewpoint. Or not. Maybe, like Greenwald, you have some inane idea that helping women is the equivalent of nation building. It isn’t. It’s nation changing. And we all have to do it.
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
John Kerry, Chair
Richard G Lugar, Ranking Member
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Howard L. Berman, CHAIRMAN, D-CA, 28th District
Gary L. Ackerman, VICE CHAIR, D-NY, 5th District
Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, D-American Samoa
Donald M. Payne, D-NJ, 10th District
Brad Sherman, D-CA, 27th District
Eliot L. Engel, D-NY, 17th District
Bill Delahunt, D-MA, 10th District
Gregory W. Meeks, D-NY, 6th District
Diane E. Watson, D-CA, 33rd District
Russ Carnahan, D-MO, 3rd District
Albio Sires, D-NJ, 13th District
Gerald E. Connolly, D-VA, 11th District
Michael E. McMahon, D-NY, 13th District
John S. Tanner, D-TN, 8th District
Gene Green, D-TX, 29th District
Lynn Woolsey, D-CA, 6th District
Sheila Jackson Lee, D-TX, 18th District
Barbara Lee, D-CA, 9th District
Shelley Berkley, D-NV, 1st District
Joseph Crowley, D-NY, 7th District
Mike Ross, D-AR, 4th District
Brad Miller, D-NC, 13th District
David Scott, D-GA, 13th District
Jim Costa, D-CA, 20th District
Keith Ellison, D-MN, 5th District
Gabrielle Giffords, D-AZ, 8th District
Ron Klein, D-FL, 22nd District
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, RANKING MEMBER, R-FL, 18th District
Christopher H. Smith, R-NJ, 4th District
Dan Burton, R-IN, 5th District
Elton Gallegly, R-CA, 24th District
Dana Rohrabacher, R-CA, 46th District
Donald A. Manzullo, R-IL, 16th District
Edward R. Royce, R-CA, 40th District
Ron Paul, R-TX, 14th District
Jeff Flake, R-AZ, 6th District
Mike Pence, R-IN, 6th District
Joe Wilson, R-SC, 2nd District
John Boozman, R-AR, 3rd District
J. Gresham Barrett, R-SC, 3rd District
Connie Mack, R-FL, 14th District
Jeff Fortenberry, R-NE, 1st District
Michael T. McCaul, R-TX, 10th District
Ted Poe, R-TX, 2nd District
Bob Inglis, R-SC, 4th District
Gus Bilirakis, R-FL, 9th District
Grab and Keel 