Mark Souder: “I rise to ask my colleagues' support for this amendment which seeks to obtain vital information necessary for…”

“I rise to ask my colleagues' support for this amendment which seeks to obtain vital information necessary for congressional oversight of our policies in Afghanistan. I first want to commend the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) for his leadership in bringing this legislation before the House. Chairman Hyde has been a consistent champion in the fight against international drug trafficking, and I thank him for his tireless efforts in that regard. This amendment is quite simple. It would require a report from the State Department identifying all requests made by the U.S. Government for extradition of drug traffickers from Afghanistan, the status of those requests, and the response of the Afghan government. This report will enable Congress to evaluate the level of cooperation from the Afghan government on this vital aspect of counterdrug activity. The U.S. will not be able to take effective action against the heroin trade if the Afghan government refuses to apprehend and extradite major opium traffickers. {time} 1530 Mr. Chairman, extradition is one of the most important tools in the struggle against international narcoterrorism. We need to be very sure that tool is functioning properly in Afghanistan, the epicenter of the world's heroin trade. As we vote to keep our troops still in Afghanistan, they are not being shot at by missiles and bullets and guns bought by making microcomputers or by sales from their local Wal- Mart. It is coming from the heroin trade.…”