[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4363]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            VOTE ``NO'' ON TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN

  (Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, in my nearly 27 years in the United 
States Air Force, I learned that one of the most critical elements 
necessary to overcome a determined enemy is the element of surprise. 
Based on my experience and the proven battle-tested history of the many 
successful conflicts that our Nation has endured over the years, I must 
stand in opposition to House Concurrent Resolution 28.
  Surprise is a tactical element best determined by field commanders 
based on battlefield conditions. As such, decisions on troop movements 
should be made by commanders in the field, not politicians in 
Washington. Should this bill pass, we give up the element of surprise, 
we break the trust and relationship we have built with the Afghan 
people and our allies, and the sacrifice of our young men and women in 
uniform would be meaningless if we simply walk away.
  General Petraeus said, ``The Taliban and al Qaeda obviously would 
trumpet this as a victory, as a success. Needless to say, it would 
completely undermine everything that our troopers have fought so much 
for and sacrificed so much for.''
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

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