[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 79 (Thursday, May 21, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H5985-H5986]
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. Madam Speaker, last week, Congressman Jim McGovern 
introduced H.R. 2404, legislation to require the Secretary of Defense 
to submit a report to Congress, outlining the exit strategy for our 
United States military forces in Afghanistan.
  I am an original cosponsor of this bill, which now has 78 cosponsors. 
I became a cosponsor of this bill because it has been nearly 8 years 
since the United States began its military operation in Afghanistan, 
and I am concerned that there is no clear strategy for victory or end 
point to our efforts in that country. Without focused and targeted 
objectives, adding more manpower to an effort in Afghanistan could 
cause the United States to go the way of many great armies and leave 
our troops in a never-ending, no-win situation.
  I have heard from many Vietnam veterans who are concerned that 
Afghanistan could become the next Vietnam. For example, Andrew Bacevich 
is a West Point graduate, a retired colonel, a Vietnam and Gulf War 
veteran, and a professor of military history. He is also the father of 
a son who died in Iraq in 2007.
  In an article published on May 18, 2009, in the American 
Conservative, entitled ``To Die for a Mystique: The Lessons our leaders 
didn't Learn from the Vietnam War,'' he wrote, ``In one of the most 
thoughtful Vietnam-era accounts written by a senior military officer, 
General Bruce Palmer once observed, 'With respect to Vietnam, our 
leaders should have known that the American people would not stand 
still for a protracted war of an indeterminate nature with no 
foreseeable end to the United States commitment.'''
  He further wrote, ``General Palmer thereby distilled into a single 
sentence the central lesson of Vietnam: To embark upon an open-ended 
war lacking

[[Page H5986]]

clearly defined and achievable objectives was to forfeit public 
support, thereby courting disaster. The implications were clear: never 
again.''
  He further wrote, ``Today, in contrast, the civilian contemporaries 
of those fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have largely tuned out the 
Long War. The predominant mood of the country is not one of anger or 
anxiety but of dull acceptance.'' . . .
  `` To cite General Palmer's formulation, the citizens of this country 
at present do appear willing to 'stand still' when considering the 
prospect of war that goes on and on. While there are many explanations 
for why Americans have disengaged from the Long War, the most 
important, in my view, is that so few of us have any immediate personal 
stake in that conflict.''
  Madam Speaker, while America's military personnel faithfully conduct 
their missions abroad, elected officials here in Washington should take 
seriously their responsibility to develop a viable, long-term strategy 
for these operations. I have spoken to many in the Army and in the 
Marine Corps who say that our Nation needs an end point to its war 
strategy. Many of these servicemembers have gone to Iraq and 
Afghanistan more than once, and their desire to serve this Nation is 
greater than ever, but the stress placed on our all-volunteer force and 
on their families cannot continue forever.
  While the United States continues to devote its blood and treasure in 
Afghanistan, the Afghan Government has yet to purge itself of many who 
are funneling support to the Taliban.
  Our men and women in uniform deserve to have the President work with 
his military commanders and with the United States 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.
  Madam Speaker, before I close, as I do every night on this floor, I 
ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform. I ask God to 
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, dying for 
freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq.
  I close by asking God to continue to bless America.

                          ____________________