[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 108 (Wednesday, July 18, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H4918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1220
     CONTINUING COSTS OF OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM IN AFGHANISTAN

  (Mr. SCHRADER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. SCHRADER. I rise today to support our planning for a safe and 
responsible withdrawal from Afghanistan in the very, very near term. No 
one has forgotten why we went into Afghanistan: to rout out and bring 
justice to those who attacked us on September 11, 2001. With 
extraordinary bravery, our troops have accomplished the mission they 
were set out to do over 10 years ago. Osama bin Laden has been brought 
to justice and al Qaeda has been largely crushed. Our troops have done 
their job. Many of them--over 2,000 of them, in fact--have given their 
lives not only to defend our freedoms but those of Afghans as well.
  After 10 years of war and reconstruction, it's time for Afghans to 
stand up for Afghanistan, and it's time for us to do our job and bring 
our troops home. We can continue to defend ourselves from terrorists 
without tens of thousands of troops fighting a ground war in 
Afghanistan. The $88 billion we're talking about putting into 
Afghanistan in this Defense appropriations bill this week could build 
our own infrastructure and create jobs and economic opportunity right 
here at home. It is ludicrous to be spending such large sums rebuilding 
other countries when our own economic problems are so large and 
persistent. Our greatest leaders say our greatest threat is not a 
military one, but an economic one.

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