[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 107 (Monday, June 21, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S4641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                Authorization for Use of Military Force

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, it was October of 2002. I remember the 
day when in the Senate we decided to vote on the question as to whether 
or not we would authorize President Bush to use military force in 
Afghanistan. We considered the issue of Iraq before. Twenty-three of us 
had voted against giving that authority to President Bush.
  When it came to Afghanistan, the argument was different. The argument 
was that those responsible for 9/11, for killing 3,000 innocent 
Americans, were hiding out in Afghanistan, and if we didn't ferret them 
out of their hiding place and hold them accountable, what kind of 
nation would we be? I bought that argument. Virtually every Member of 
Congress agreed, with one exception--Congresswoman Barbara Lee of 
California. But we voted to use military force in Afghanistan under 
extraordinary circumstances in 2002.
  Now, I listened to the Republican leader come to the floor and accuse 
President Biden of abandoning Afghanistan, retreating from Afghanistan. 
And he leaves out some salient facts. The negotiation with the Taliban, 
which was initiated by President Trump, was a negotiation to determine 
who would be in power, what areas they would hold, and when the United 
States would leave. It was President Trump who initiated that 
negotiation, not President Biden. President Biden, when he took office, 
followed through with it. I applauded him for doing so.
  I realize--and I think everyone does--that the situation in 
Afghanistan is perilous, but I think that we ought to acknowledge the 
obvious. After the longest war in the history of the United States, 
after losing over a thousand American lives and tens of thousands 
wounded, after spending trillions of dollars, we were not winning in 
Afghanistan. We didn't have a winning hand or a winning strategy. The 
Taliban was still a viable political force, and the Afghan security 
forces many times were overwhelmed by that Taliban force.
  I wonder why the Republican leader from Kentucky doesn't do the 
obvious. He has the authority, under the rules of the Senate, to 
introduce a measure authorizing the use of military force in 
Afghanistan. If he believes we should stay or send more troops there, 
that is his right. He can offer that on the floor of the Senate, 
instead of lamenting what has happened there. He has the authority. If 
he thinks we have abandoned the Afghan people and should go back into 
that country, why doesn't he offer an authorization for use of military 
force?
  I think we know the answer. There is little or no support on his side 
of the aisle, nor on this side of the aisle, to make the longest war in 
American history even longer. Yes, we should be a viable force to try 
to make certain the Afghan people have a fighting chance. But after 
almost 20 years at it, I think we have shown that our strategy was not 
the winning strategy.