[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 21]
[House]
[Page 28964]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 OUR PRESENCE IN AFGHANISTAN NOT WANTED

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. Why are we still in Afghanistan? Al Qaeda's been 
routed. Our occupation fuels a Taliban insurgency. The more troops we 
send, the more resistance we meet. If we want to be truly secure, we 
need to redefine national security to include financial security, 
because America has record debt, skyrocketing unemployment, huge trade 
deficits, record business failures, and foreclosures.
  The people of Afghanistan don't want to be saved by us. They want to 
be saved from us. Our presence and our Predator drones kill countless 
innocents, create more U.S. enemies, and destabilize Pakistan. The 
U.S.-created Karzai government is hopelessly corrupt, despised by 
Afghans. Our solution: provide them with a high-level U.S. minder, 
making him less legitimate. Another strategy: buy or rent friends among 
would-be insurgents. Give them cash and guns. When the money runs out, 
they shoot at U.S. soldiers.
  We played all sides in Afghanistan--and all sides want us out. They 
don't want our presence, our control, our troops, our drones, our way 
of life. We're fighting the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong 
time. What part of ``get out'' do we not understand?

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