WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi and
 members of the bipartisan congressional delegation that recently returned
 from Iraq and Afghanistan held a news conference this afternoon to discuss
 their experiences and observations. Below are Pelosi's remarks:
     "As is appropriate, my first trip outside of the United States as
 Speaker of the House was to visit our men and women in uniform -- to thank
 them for their courage, their patriotism, and their sacrifices that they
 are making and that their families are making for our country.
     "As a tribute to them, I wanted to bring the highest-level delegation
 possible -- people who are respected for their commitment to our national
 security and their concern for the welfare of our troops -- members of
 Congress who understand how America must protect its power and project its
 values.
     "On our bipartisan delegation, we were joined by the distinguished
 member from Ohio, David Hobson, recognized as a champion of our troops and
 our veterans and an expert on international security; the chairman of our
 Armed Services Committee, Ike Skelton; the chairman of our Foreign Affairs
 Committee, Tom Lantos; the chairman of our Intelligence Committee,
 Silvestre Reyes; from the Appropriations Committee two decision makers who
 are critical to the mission: Congressman Jack Murtha, the Subcommittee
 chair on Defense and Congresswoman Nita Lowey, the chairwoman of the
 Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, which covers reconstruction and
 investment in Iraq and Afghanistan.
     "Our first visit to the troops was in Iraq. It has been nearly four
 years since we went to war in Iraq, and nearly four years later there is
 still no end in sight.
     "We went to Iraq convinced, I am speaking for myself, that the war
 could not be won solely by military means. Our military has done their jobs
 excellently, but they cannot be expected to do all that needs to be done
 alone. We went with the hope and expectation that what we would see in Iraq
 was some coordinated effort to have political solutions to relieve the
 civil strife and violence there and diplomatic efforts to bring stability
 to the region. Sadly, we saw no evidence of either.
     "The escalation instituted by the president has been tried before and
 failed. Although we heard varying judgments about prospects for success
 this time, everyone we spoke to agreed that this was the one last chance,
 and it might not work.
     "A better course than the escalation would be to quickly transition
 U.S. troops from a combat mission to a training mission; a mission
 committed to force protection, border security, fighting terrorism, and
 training Iraqis. A comprehensive diplomatic initiative focused on Iraq's
 neighbors and dealing with security, reconstruction, and economic
 development matters must be made an urgent priority. Change the mission,
 engage in diplomatic initiatives, and once again have political initiatives
 -- for example amending the Constitution to expand the political
 participation and civic participation of all Iraqis in order to end the
 violence. This simply was not in evidence.
     "We next visited our troops in Afghanistan. Sadly, the war in
 Afghanistan is far from over. Our troops have been on the front lines for
 more than five years, but in some ways Afghanistan has been a forgotten
 war. We conveyed to our NATO partners that they must provide their fair
 share of the additional troops that are necessary to defeat the Taliban. We
 have conveyed to them that the nations of Europe and elsewhere must play a
 bigger role in the effort to enhance the authority of the central
 government, improve security, and expand economic opportunity -- that must
 be a priority.
     "We also conveyed that aggressive action is needed to address the
 escalating poppy cultivation that risks undermining the efforts of the
 Afghan government and coalition forces to stabilize the country. We
 conveyed to President Karzai, as well, a strong commitment from the U.S. to
 help in every way Afghanistan.
     "The indelible memories of the trip will be those of our troops -- from
 Camp Victory in Iraq, to the base at Bagram in Afghanistan, to the hospital
 in Landstuhl, Germany. We were inspired by their dedication, their spirit,
 and their selflessness. Our commitment is to ensure that the policies they
 are given to implement match the exceptional quality of their service and
 sacrifice."
 
 

SOURCE Office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi