U.S. CONGRESSMAN MIKE THOMPSON | REPRESENTING CALIFORNIA'S FIFTH DISTRICT

Defense

As a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a military veteran, I am committed to providing our Armed Forces and intelligence community with the resources they need to provide a robust national defense. To effectively advance our nation’s national security goals, we must be able to objectively assess our security challenges and adapt accordingly. I intend to ensure that Congress plays its part in protecting the American people.

Afghanistan

The Afghanistan war is now the longest running war in United States history. In the wake of the September 11th attacks, the United States went into Afghanistan to eliminate a glaring threat to our national security: the safe haven and protection of Osama Bin Laden and al Qaeda by the ruling Taliban. However, instead of finishing the job in Afghanistan, the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. Unfortunately, this diversion allowed the Taliban to refortify in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and al Qaeda to relocate to the border region of Pakistan and to other countries around the world. The United States has dramatically increased the number of military personal in Afghanistan as a result, to over 102,000 brave men and women.

I support bringing our troops home from Afghanistan as quickly and safely as possible and changing our policy to a counterterrorism strategy that focuses on the threat posed by al Qaeda and its affiliates around the world, including here in the United States. To that end, I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 1735, which would require the president to submit a plan to Congress for the safe, orderly, and expeditious redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Afghanistan.

I have also voted in favor of requiring President Obama to submit a plan to Congress outlining the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and have voted to invoke the War Powers Act requiring the President to withdraw our troops from Afghanistan within 30 days. Though these efforts have not yet passed the House of Representatives in 2011, I will continue to monitor the president’s planned redeployment from Afghanistan later this summer, to ensure that it is significant and sizeable; and will strongly consider other legislation that may come for a vote requiring our withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Iraq

I voted against authorizing the war in Iraq in 2002 and have been a vocal opponent of the war since before it began. Our country has sacrificed enormously in this conflict, spending over $729 billion and suffering the loss of more than 4,400 brave American soldiers. After the failed policies of the last administration, I am proud to see President Obama implementing policies that have removed all U.S. combat troops out of Iraq, and have set a definitive timetable to remove all remaining U.S. forces by the end of 2011. However, I will continue to monitor the situation in Iraq to ensure that this final withdrawal deadline holds firm and that a residual force of American troops does not occupy the country for years to come.  Our troops did what we sent them to do – now it is time for the Iraqis to take full control of their country’s defenses.

Iran

I strongly believe that the current regime in Iran is a profound threat to U.S. national security interests – not only because of their nuclear ambitions, but because of the military assistance they provide armed groups in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Hamas and Hezbollah. Iran continues to ignore the international community on the issue of nuclear proliferation and has pledged to build new nuclear facilities.

In an effort to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions, I have supported international sanctions against the Iranian government. Most recently, I cosponsored and voted in favor of H.R. 2194, the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, which have placed the most restrictive sanctions on Iran to date.

Libya

On March 19, the United States joined NATO allies in launching a joint operation to defend the Libyan population from attacks by the government of Muammar al Qadhafi. I believe it is absolutely necessary that President Obama seek Congressional authorization for further action in Libya, as stipulated under the War Powers Resolution. The president originally stated we would be in Libya for a matter of days, not weeks, and I believe Congress deserves to hear a straight forward answer from the administration on our ongoing objectives and strategy.

The House of Representatives has taken up a handful of resolutions so far regarding the ongoing operations in Libya. To this point, I believe many of these resolutions have been extremely partisan and have been aimed at scoring political points rather than addressing the real issues at hand. However, I did support a bipartisan amendment to the defense authorization bill that would prevent funds from being used to deploy, establish, or maintain the presence of Members of the Armed Forces or private security contractors on the ground in Libya. As a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I will continue to closely monitor the situation in Libya, while ensuring that any military operations are carried out with proper Congressional consultation.