[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19621-19622]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 AFGHANISTAN AND THE LESSONS OF VIETNAM

  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 on the House floor I mentioned a 
column that appeared July 19th, 2009, in the Raleigh News and Observer 
entitled, ``From Vietnam 1959 to Afghanistan 2009.'' The column was 
written by Joseph Galloway, a military journalist and coauthor of a 
book on Vietnam called ``We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young.''
  In his column, Galloway uses the history lessons of Vietnam as a 
cautionary tale to President Obama as he oversees America's military 
involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  Galloway describes a time during the war in Vietnam in 1965 when 
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara presented Lyndon Baines Johnson, 
President, with a top secret memo. It indicated that the United States 
had reached a decision point, with two available options. The first 
option was to arrange diplomatic cover and pull out of South Vietnam. 
The second option was to increase the number of American troops by 
200,000, bringing the total to more than 500,000 Americans on the 
ground.
  Regarding this second option, McNamara stated, ``All we can possibly 
achieve is a military stalemate at a much higher level of violence.'' A 
couple of weeks later, Johnson assembled what he called the ``wise 
men'' for a brainstorming session on Vietnam; yet those who 
participated said there was no real decision of McNamara's option one.
  From that time, when Johnson chose to escalate and continue the war 
until its conclusion 10 years later, Americans suffered 56,000 more 
casualties.
  Madam Speaker, President Obama's administration has reached a similar 
decision point concerning Afghanistan. With regard to the Obama 
administration's escalation of troops in Afghanistan, Galloway states, 
``Some smart veterans of both Iraq and Afghanistan, on the ground now 
or just back, say that at this rate we will inevitably lose

[[Page 19622]]

the war in Afghanistan; that the situation on the ground now is far 
worse than Iraq was at its lowest point in 2006 and early 2007. They 
talk of a costly effort both in lives and national treasure that will 
stretch out past the Obama administration and maybe the two 
administrations after that.''
  In his column, Galloway advises: ``Obama needs to call in the `wise 
men and women' for a fish-or-cut-bait meeting. Let's hope that this 
time around, there's an absence of the arrogance and certainty of 
previous generations of advisers. Let's hope, too, that they will weigh 
very carefully all the costs of another decade or two of the war in 
Afghanistan.''
  Madam Speaker, after nearly 8 years of U.S. military operations in 
Afghanistan, the President needs to outline a clear strategy for 
victory. I have spoken to many in the Army and Marine Corps who say our 
Nation needs an end point to its war strategy.
  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.
  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 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 
funnel support for the Taliban.
  Our men and women in uniform deserve to have the President work with 
his military commanders and the Congress to develop the best strategy 
for achieving our goals and wrapping up our military commitment in 
Afghanistan.
  Madam Speaker, as I do every night that I have the opportunity and 
privilege to speak on the floor of the House, my heart aches. I have 
signed over 8,000 letters to families who have lost loved ones in 
Afghanistan and Iraq because I regret that I voted to give the 
President the authority to go into Iraq.
  Madam Speaker, because of that, I want to close this way. 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 dying for freedom in 
Afghanistan and Iraq.
  And three times, Madam Speaker, because America needs the love of 
God, I close this way: God please, God please, God please continue to 
bless America.

                          ____________________