[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9238-9239]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          MOURNING 2,000TH DEATH OF OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Garamendi) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, the 2,000th U.S. military 
servicemember was killed in Operation Enduring Freedom. I send my 
deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of each individual 
who has been killed since this war began more than a decade ago. Those 
losses are a cause for sadness beyond what I can adequately convey in 
my words. Having just celebrated Father's Day with my daughters and 
son, I reflect on the fact that each fallen soldier was the child of 
some parent. Many were husbands and wives, and many were parents 
themselves.
  We are a Nation at war. Yet the burden of this war has been primarily 
borne by a very few, by our military servicemembers and their families. 
Less than 1 percent of the United States population is in the armed 
services. Many Americans were not aware of last week's tragic 
milestone, or perhaps they may have glanced at the fatality count in 
their local paper and then they went about their daily events. This is 
a war that, for many, goes on in the background while most Americans 
carry on their daily lives.
  It's imperative that we stop and think deeply about the human cost of 
this war. We must read the names of those who have been killed, look at 
their pictures, and imagine the grief of those who have been left 
behind. We must also think about those who have been wounded. Every day 
outside this Chamber, we see yet one more military man or woman who has 
lost a limb, who has been harmed. They are in our military hospitals 
now, their futures uncertain. We must think about those servicemembers 
whose lives have been so shattered by the experience of war that they 
cannot continue living. More servicemembers took their lives in this 
year than were killed in combat in Afghanistan. Only when we feel those 
losses can we fully comprehend the cost of this war.
  Recently, this House passed its version of the National Defense 
Authorization Act that I opposed but the majority pushed forward, a 
bill that has no meaningful timeline for ending combat operations and 
bringing our troops home, no concrete plans for transitioning full 
responsibility for Afghanistan security to Afghan forces. Most 
Republican supporters of the National Defense Authorization Act would 
slow down the withdrawal of our troops. They would have American troops 
continue to fight against a domestic insurgency in Afghanistan, and 
they would have American troops fighting for the corrupt Karzai 
government.
  As Members of Congress, we're responsible for authorizing the funds 
that sustain this war. If we believe this war should continue, we 
should say that this war is absolutely essential to our Nation's 
security. This war is not.
  Can we look into the eyes of the mother or father of a serviceman who 
has been killed and say your child died for a mission that's absolutely 
essential to our Nation's security? I can't do that, and I believe most 
of us cannot. I believe it is time for the war in Afghanistan to come 
to an end. Our troops and their families have given enough. We should 
welcome them home as heroes, and we should ensure that they receive the 
support and care that is due when they return.
  We sent our brave servicemen and -women to Afghanistan to eliminate 
international terrorist organizations that threaten the United States. 
As President Obama said last month, our goal is to destroy al Qaeda. 
Our troops have successfully executed this mission with phenomenal 
dedication and capacity. We have virtually eliminated al Qaeda from 
Afghanistan. No expert says that there's more than 100 there, and they 
have no meaningful operation. They have demonstrated that we can take 
terrorists out wherever they are in this world. We have captured and 
killed most all of al Qaeda's top commanders. One year ago, we 
celebrated the historic moment when Osama bin Laden, the 9/11 
mastermind, was killed. He met his just end.
  The cost of this war in blood and treasure has been staggering. Even 
those who have not given their lives have given of their lives. It's 
time for this war to end. The loyalty and dedication of our 
servicemembers, our most sacred resource, must be conserved. We must 
not squander it. End this war now.
  Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, the 2,000th U.S. military service member 
was killed in Operation Enduring Freedom. I send my deepest sympathies 
to the families and loved ones of each of the individuals who have been 
killed since we began this war in Afghanistan more than a decade ago. 
These losses are a cause for sadness beyond what I can adequately 
convey in words. Having just celebrating Father's day with my daughters 
and son, I reflect on the fact that each fallen soldier was the child 
of some parent. Many were husbands and wives, and many were parents 
themselves.
  We are a nation at war. Yet the burden of this war has been primarily 
borne by the few--by our military servicemembers and their families. 
Less than 1% of the U.S. population serves in the armed forces. Many 
Americans were not aware of last week's tragic milestone, or perhaps 
glanced at the fatality count in their local paper and continued with 
their day. This is a war that, for many, goes on in the background 
while they carry on with their daily lives.
  It is imperative that we stop and think deeply about the human costs 
of this war. We must read the names of those who have been killed, look 
at their pictures, and imagine the grief of those they left behind. We 
must think also about those who have been wounded, who are right now in 
our military hospitals with uncertain futures. Every day outside this 
Chamber, we see yet one more soldier who has lost a limb. And we must 
think about those servicemembers whose lives were so shattered by the 
experiences of war that they could not continue living. More 
servicemembers took their own lives this year than were killed in 
combat in Afghanistan. Only when we feel these losses can we fully 
comprehend the costs of this war.
  Recently, this House passed its version of the National Defense 
Authorization Act, which contains a provision inserted by the majority 
that would continue this war indefinitely. I opposed this bill. This 
majority bill has no meaningful timeline for ending combat operations 
and bringing our troops home. It has not concrete plans for quickly 
transitioning full responsibility for Afghanistan's security to Afghan 
forces. The majority has pushed to slow down the withdrawal of U.S. 
forces. They would have American troops continue fighting against a 
domestic insurgency in Afghanistan and striving to defeat those armed 
factions that threaten the corrupt Karzai government.
  As Members of Congress, we are responsible for authorizing the funds 
that would sustain this war. If we believe this war should continue, we 
affirm that this war is essential to our national security. It is not. 
We should be able to look into the eyes of a mother or father of a 
service member has been killed and say, ``Your child died in a war that 
is absolutely necessary to keep our country safe.'' I cannot do that, 
and I believe most of us cannot. It is time for the war in Afghanistan 
to come to an end. Our troops and their families have given enough. We 
should welcome them back as heroes and ensure that they receive the 
support and care that is their due when they return.
  We sent our brave service men and women to Afghanistan to eliminate 
those international terrorist organizations that threatened the United 
States. As President Obama stated very clearly last month, ``Our goal 
is to destroy al Qaeda.'' Our troops have successfully executed this 
mission with phenomenal dedication and capacity. They have virtually 
eliminated al Qaeda from Afghanistan, as our intelligence experts 
report that fewer than 100 al Qaeda operatives remain in the country. 
They have demolished terrorist training camps, and captured or killed 
most of al Qaeda's top commanders. One year ago we all celebrated the 
historic moment when Osama Bin Laden, the 9/11 mastermind who bears 
responsibility for the death of thousands of innocent American 
civilians, met his just end.
  The costs of this war, in blood and treasure, have been staggering. 
Even those who have not given their lives have given of their lives, 
missing time with loved ones at home while they serve our country 
abroad. The loyalty and dedication of our military servicemembers is 
America's most sacred resource, and we must not squander it. They have 
achieved the core national security objectives for which they were sent 
to Afghanistan. It is now time for our troops to come home to their 
families.

[[Page 9239]]



                          ____________________