[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 19397]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        COMMENTS ON AFGHANISTAN

  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. Mr. Speaker, this past Tuesday I came to the floor to talk 
about the corruption in Afghanistan and the growing concern of the 
American people due to the fact that many in both parties have said we 
need to stay there 4 more years, including the President of the United 
States.
  In November of this year, we had 53 Americans killed in action in 
Afghanistan and 146 Americans wounded in Afghanistan. Beside me, Mr. 
Speaker, are the faces of marines who were killed from Camp Lejeune. 
Too many times, because of the fact that this country does not have a 
draft, this country seems to put the war in Afghanistan on the second, 
third, and fourth pages, and that is a tragedy to the families of those 
young men and women fighting in Afghanistan and to those families who 
have lost loved ones who have been killed.
  I would like to take just a moment to read from the Washington 
Examiner a couple of comments and also a ``60 Minutes'' segment on 
November 28 by Anderson Cooper called ``Good Cop, Bad Cop.''
  From the Washington Examiner earlier this year: ``The Examiner 
reported that numerous insurgents captured in Pakistan, including some 
members of al Qaeda, were returned to Afghanistan upon the request of 
the Karzai government, and then, according to senior Pakistan 
officials, `released back to the Taliban as bargaining chips in 
negotiations.'
  ``A marine stationed in southern Afghanistan's volatile Helmand 
Province told the Examiner that efforts to retaining insurgent fighters 
are `worthless.''' They are worthless.
  ``Earlier this year, his unit held a man known to be working with the 
Taliban. The marines had gathered evidence that the man was 
transporting hundreds of pounds of bomb-making equipment and explosives 
for the Taliban. But, shortly after they captured him, he was set 
free.''
  That is a tragedy in itself, Mr. Speaker, because our young men and 
women are over there dying for what, I do not know. In fact, there was 
an article written in the magazine called The American Conservative by 
Andrew Bacevich about 6 months ago, and the title of that article was 
``To Die for a Mystique.'' He was comparing Vietnam to Afghanistan. 
Actually, the writer of that article, Andrew Bacevich, fought in 
Vietnam for this country, and his son died in Iraq for this country.
  Let me just briefly read from ``Good Cops, Bad Cops: Afghanistan's 
National Police.'' This is the ``60 Minutes'' segment:
  ``We began with the three-star American general now in charge of 
their training. `The police have to succeed,' Lt. General William 
Caldwell told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
  ```If the Afghan police fail, we fail?' Cooper asked.
  ```We do,' the general said.
  ``Caldwell began overseeing training of Afghan security forces last 
November. `The sooner we can develop an effective police force, the 
sooner U.S. forces will be able to have less of an active combat role,' 
the general said. `If we had a better-trained Afghan police at this 
point, that would save American lives,' Cooper said. `There's no 
question about that. That is true,' said the general.''
  Now, Mr. Speaker, let me tell you just how difficult this job is:
  ```Not only are most of the police illiterate, but it turns out many 
of them also have a drug problem. There is one study said 10 to 20 
percent use or smoke hash and other forms of drugs,' Cooper told 
Caldwell, `and that's probably an accurate statistic based on what we 
have seen,' he replied.
  ``Another video taken by members of the 82nd Airborne shows an Afghan 
policeman smoking marijuana before going out on patrol--evidently not 
an uncommon ritual.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is time that this House and this Senate and this 
administration understand that it is not worth the lives of our men and 
women in uniform to keep them in Afghanistan for 4 years. History has 
proven it is an uncontrolled country. It will never be a nation, it 
will never have a successful national government, and it is time that 
the House and Senate understand that it is not worth one more life of 
our young men and women to stay in Afghanistan.
  Mr. Speaker, before I yield back the balance of my time, I will ask 
God to please bless our men and women in uniform. I will ask God to 
please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. I will ask 
God in his loving arms to hold the families who have given a child 
dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. And I will ask God to bless 
the House and Senate, that we will do what is right in the eyes of God, 
and God give strength, wisdom and courage to the President of the 
United States, Mr. Obama, that he will do what is right in the eyes of 
God. And three times I will close, God please, God please, God please 
bless America.

                          ____________________