[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 10585-10586]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  THE LONGEST WAR IN AMERICAN HISTORY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, the war in Afghanistan is now 104 months 
old, passing Vietnam, to make it the longest war in United States 
history. And as it reaches this dubious milestone, it's hard to imagine 
things going much worse. The much-hyped military campaign in Kandahar 
is now way behind schedule, with the Secretary of Defense saying it's 
more important to get it done right than to get it done quickly.
  That kind of plea might have worked 80 months ago, Mr. Speaker, but 
do they not see the irony or the disconnect in preaching patience about 
a war that is now the longest the Nation has ever fought? Do they not 
see that the American people, who have given a thousand or more of 
their best young people and a quarter of a trillion dollars to this 
war, are long past the point where they are willing to cut some slack 
and take a wait-and-see approach?
  And if that's not bad enough, it turns out the campaign we thought we 
had just finished in Marja never really took in the first place. What 
seemed to be a quick and decisive military triumph turned out to be an 
illusion. The

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Taliban hadn't been crushed; they had gone into hiding, laying low for 
a while, taking part in the opium harvest, and regaining their 
bearings, so to speak. Now the Taliban is back, with a campaign of 
violence and intimidation, planting bombs, attacking marines, and 
terrorizing the population. As one report in The Washington Post put 
it, ``They still own the night.''
  General McChrystal promised to have a ready-made so-called 
``government in a box'' prepared to take over in Marja, but inside that 
box was a district governor considered hapless by most, who has been 
outfitted by the marines with a fancily furnished tent, who seems more 
fond of afternoon naps than in doing the hard work of governing.
  And the national government that is supposed to be our partner, the 
repository of our hopes and confidence, the leader of the regime that 
is supposed to pick up where U.S. troops leave off in providing 
stability and security, well, his heart doesn't seem to be in the 
mission. Just a few weeks after being wined and dined by his American 
hosts during a state visit, President Karzai is wondering aloud whether 
the United States and NATO can get the job done.
  My concern, Mr. Speaker, is that with each setback and each delay 
pressure will build to extend the timetable for troop deployment, our 
troops getting out of Afghanistan. This would be the wrong lesson to 
learn. What's needed is not more time, but a different policy. Every 
day that we continue this military campaign will contribute to the 
chaos in Afghanistan. More time and more troops can only exacerbate the 
problem. They cannot solve it.
  I don't think I can describe the war any better than did New York 
Times columnist Bob Herbert. He said: ``It's just a mind-numbing, soul-
chilling, body-destroying slog, month after month, and year after 
pointless year.''
  Mr. Speaker, it's time to end the slog. It's time to end the longest 
war in American history. It's past time to bring our troops home.

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