[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 76 (Monday, May 18, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H5693-H5694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      U.S. STRATEGY IN AFGHANISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, just last week, the House approved a $96.7 
billion spending bill that provides funding for our military operations 
in Iraq and Afghanistan. I joined many of my House colleagues in voting 
for this funding. Our men and women in uniform and troops in the field 
deserve the best training and equipment our Nation can provide.
  While America's military personnel faithfully conduct their mission 
abroad, elected officials here in Washington should take seriously 
their responsibility to develop a viable, long-term strategy for these 
operations. I have always voiced my support for the United States 
military action to topple the Taliban in Afghanistan following the 
tragedy of September 11. Yet, nearly 8 years later, I am concerned that 
the United States has not articulated a clear strategy for victory or 
an end point to our efforts in that country.
  Because of this concern, I join more than 70 Members of Congress in 
cosponsoring H.R. 2404, Congressman Jim McGovern's legislation to 
require the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to Congress 
outlining the exit strategy for the United States military forces in 
Afghanistan. Without focus and targeted objectives, adding more 
manpower to our efforts in Afghanistan could cause the United States to 
go the way of many great armies and leave our troops in never-ending, 
no-win situations.
  Many world leaders have noted that military action in Afghanistan 
alone is not going to free us of terrorism. Colonel Douglas McGregor, a 
veteran of Vietnam, put it well when he recently wrote for the Armed 
Forces Journal: ``When national military strategy fails to answer the 
question of purpose, method and end state, military power becomes an 
engine of destruction, not just for its intended enemies but for its 
supporting society and economy, too.''
  The United States continues to devote its blood and treasure in 
Afghanistan while the Afghan Government has yet to purge itself of many 
who are funneling support to the Taliban. Meanwhile, here at home, 
money and manpower are needed to address our Nation's serious economic 
concerns and to protect our citizens from the violence at our southern 
border with

[[Page H5694]]

Mexico where drug wars are growing more dangerous every day. Given the 
problem our Nation faces at home, we need to make wise decisions about 
how we spend our money and military resources abroad.
  Andrew Basevich is a West Point graduate, a retired Army colonel, a 
Vietnam and Gulf War veteran, a professor, and a military historian. 
Mr. Speaker, he is also the father of a son who gave his life in Iraq 
in 2007. In an article he wrote for the American Conservative, titled 
``To Die for a Mystique: The Lessons our Leaders didn't Learn from the 
Vietnam War,'' I quote Mr. Basevich: ``Americans today profess to 
`support the troops,' but that support is a mile wide and an inch deep. 
It rarely translates into serious or sustained public concern about 
whether those same troops are being used wisely and well. With the long 
war already this Nation's second most expensive conflict, trailing only 
to World War II, and with the Federal Government projecting trillion-
dollar deficits for years to come, how much can we afford, and where is 
the money coming from? The President who vows to `change the way 
Washington works' has not yet exhibited the imagination needed to 
conceive of an alternative to the project that his predecessor began.''
  Mr. Speaker, again, that is from the father of a son who died in 2007 
for this country. It is essential that the President work with his 
military commanders and with the Congress to develop the best strategy 
for achieving our goals and for wrapping up our military commitment in 
Afghanistan. I hope that many of my colleagues in both parties will 
join me in cosponsoring Congressman McGovern's legislation, H.R. 2404.
  Before closing, I ask God to please bless our men and women in 
uniform. I ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in 
uniform. I ask God, in his loving arms, to hold the families who have 
given a child, a child who has died for freedom in Afghanistan and 
Iraq. I close three times by asking God: Please, please, please, God. 
Continue to bless America.

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