[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 174 (Tuesday, November 15, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H7583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              AFGHANISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Jones) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. It's a sad day in America when a major general in the 
United States Army cannot give his honest opinion about our war in 
Afghanistan without losing his job.
  Last week Major General Peter Fuller gave an interview in which he 
commented on the Afghan Government and the President of Afghanistan, 
Mr. Karzai. And I want to quote the general, Mr. Speaker. These are his 
words: ``erratic and isolated from reality,'' that is the leader of 
Afghanistan. He continued by saying: ``Why don't you just poke me in 
the eye with a needle! You've got to be kidding me. I'm sorry, we just 
gave you $11.6 billion, and now you're telling me, `I don't really 
care'.''
  That's what our young men and women are doing; they are dying and 
losing their legs for this erratic leader of Afghanistan.
  Let me further state, in a December 8, 2010, Washington Post article, 
while meeting with General Petraeus and former Ambassador Eikenberry, 
President Karzai said he has three ``main enemies'': the Taliban, the 
United States, and the international community. ``If I had to choose 
sides today, I'd choose the Taliban.'' Yes, that's the erratic leader 
our young men and women are dying for.
  Just last month during a television interview, President Karzai 
stated, ``If ever there's a war between Pakistan and America, 
Afghanistan will side with Pakistan.''
  These are not the statements of a leader for whom United States 
servicemembers should give life and limb.
  On May 12 of this year, Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Palmer and 
Sergeant Kevin Balduf, both from my district, Camp Lejeune and Cherry 
Point, were in Afghanistan, with the sole purpose to train Afghan 
officers, when one of the trainees opened fire and shot and killed 
Lieutenant Colonel Palmer and Sergeant Balduf as they sat down for 
lunch. They both were killed by an Afghan trainee. And, Mr. Speaker, 
these two little girls on this poster are the daughters of Sergeant 
Balduf, Eden and Stephanie. They're standing at their father's service 
at Arlington.
  The tragedy for these little girls is not just the fact that their 
daddy gave his life for this country, trying to help the Afghans learn 
to be policemen; but the day before he was killed, Sergeant Balduf 
emailed his wife, Amy, and he said, ``I don't trust them. I don't trust 
them for anything, not for anything at all.'' The next day, he and 
Colonel Palmer were shot dead by the people that we're spending $10 
billion a month on in Afghanistan. And we're telling the American 
people, We've got to cut programs for your children and our senior 
citizens.
  I'm asking that President Obama and Congress do everything to defend 
the truth and encourage military leaders to be honest with the American 
people as to what is happening in Afghanistan, and I will submit a 
letter that I wrote to President Obama regarding General Fuller.
  Mr. Speaker, as we move forward with this debt supercommittee that's 
going to be making recommendations, I hope that my colleagues in the 
Republican Party will join those of us, the few of us in the Republican 
Party, as well as some of the Democrats, and let's bring our troops 
home before 2014. Yes, when you read in the paper we're bringing our 
troops home, it's 2014. How many more little girls and little boys have 
to go to their father's or mother's funeral? Why doesn't America wake 
up and demand that Congress bring our troops home before 2014?
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I will close, as I always do, from the bottom 
of my heart to ask God, 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 dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. And I ask God to bless 
the House and the Senate, that we will do what is right in the eyes of 
God and God's people.
  Mr. Speaker, last night on ABC, I was so touched to see Gabrielle 
Giffords, one of our colleagues, making such a strong effort to come 
back to the Congress. I wish her the very best in my heart, and I ask 
God to bless her and her husband.
  Dear God, I ask You, please give wisdom, strength, and courage to the 
President of the United States, where he will do what is right in the 
eyes of God. And God, please continue to bless America.

                                                 November 7, 2011.
     President Barack Obama,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear President Obama: It was with great sadness that I 
     learned that a senior military officer was relieved of his 
     position for telling the truth. Major General Peter Fuller 
     should receive praise from the American people, not the scorn 
     of military leadership. His comments about Afghan leadership 
     being ``erratic'' and ungrateful for the United States' 
     financial assistance and military training are correct.
       In a December 8, 2010 Washington Post article, while 
     meeting with General Petraeus and former Ambassador 
     Eikenberry, President Karzai said he has three ``main 
     enemies''--the Taliban, the United States and the 
     international community. ``If I had to choose sides today, 
     I'd choose the Taliban.'' Just last month, during a 
     television interview, President Karzai stated ``. . . if ever 
     there is a war between Pakistan and America, Afghanistan will 
     side with Pakistan.'' These are not the statements of a 
     leader for whom U.S. service members should give life and 
     limb.
       On May 12 of this year, Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Palmer 
     and Sergeant Kevin Balduf, both from my district, were in 
     Afghanistan with the sole purpose to train Afghan officers 
     when one of the trainees opened fire and shot and killed Lt. 
     Col. Palmer and Sgt. Balduf as they sat down for lunch. In an 
     email to his wife shortly before he died, Sgt. Balduf said 
     ``I don't trust them; I don't trust them for anything, not 
     for anything at all.'' These two families quickly learned 
     why.
       Mr. President, the day after you visited the wounded at 
     Walter Reed at Bethesda, I went and visited severely wounded 
     Marines from my district, which includes Camp Lejeune. One 
     Marine looked me in the eye and asked why we were still in 
     Afghanistan. I had to tell this Marine and his mother that I 
     did not know, and that I believed it was time to declare 
     victory and bring our troops home before 2014. As of October, 
     1,812 U.S. service members have died in Afghanistan. How many 
     more families will give a loved one for a corrupt leader?
       Maj. Gen. Fuller spoke the truth and does not deserve this 
     fate. As Commander in Chief, I hope you will support and 
     demand the truth for the American people. If our military 
     leaders cannot tell the truth, then America is in deep 
     trouble. Mr. President, you can right a wrong by reinstating 
     Maj. Gen. Fuller to his previous position.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Walter B. Jones,
     Member of Congress.

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