[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9705]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             THE HOUSE SHOULD DEBATE THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Jones) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I am again on the floor to talk about a waste 
of life, a waste of money in Afghanistan. We have been there 16 years, 
and nothing has changed. Many of my colleagues agree with me that it is 
time to debate our country's longest war.
  In response, I, along with John Garamendi from California, have 
introduced H.R. 1666 in hopes of forcing that discussion. I am not 
asking for Members or leadership to agree with the bill itself or even 
vote for it, but I am asking that we be able to bring to the floor of 
the House the bill for the purpose of a debate.
  We have not debated our role in Afghanistan since 2001. Members can 
either vote for or against the bill; just give the House a debate after 
16 years.
  Afghanistan is a failed policy. I would like to share a few sentences 
of an email I received this week from a great American, my friend and 
unofficial adviser, the 31st Commandant of the United States Marine 
Corps, General Chuck Krulak, regarding his thoughts on Afghanistan:
  ``Sixteen years we have been involved in Afghanistan . . . 16 years 
fighting in a country that has really never seen peace. Sixteen years 
with fluctuating troop strength--100,000 to 5,000--with no definition 
to who we are fighting--al-Qaida, Taliban or ISIS . . . you pick 'em--
with no strategy, no strong reason for entering the fray, no real 
measure of effectiveness, no use of the five elements of national 
power, no support from the people themselves, a weak government, and no 
exit strategy, and fighting a war that is unwinnable in any real sense 
of the word.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing when the President, the Commander in 
Chief, abdicates the responsibility of increasing the number of troops 
in Afghanistan to the Secretary of Defense, Secretary Mattis.
  There is more reason today than ever before to have a debate on the 
future of Afghanistan. That is the reason why Speaker Ryan should 
instruct committees in the House to come forward with a new 
Authorization for Use of Military Force.
  Where is the Congress? Don't we have a congressional responsibility 
to debate war if we are going to send a parent's young man or woman to 
die for this country?
  I think we do have that responsibility.
  In closing, I am going to share another quote from General Krulak, 
the former Commandant of the Marine Corps:
  ``I go back to what I have always said . . . back years ago. 
Afghanistan cannot be viewed through the lens of a true nation-state or 
as a true country. It is fragmented . . . tribal . . . controlled by 
war lords, economically a basket case, no real government outside of 
Kabul, and that is questionable, a poorly organized and led Army who 
will shoot at Americans as well as the `enemy,' and no sense of what 
the country wants to be. No one has ever conquered Afghanistan . . . 
and many have tried. We will join the list of nations that have tried 
and failed. Afghanistan is the origin of `whack a mole,' whether it is 
al-Qaida, ISIS, or the Taliban. You can't beat them in a geographic 
area . . . they will just pop up someplace else.''
  Mr. Speaker, that is why many of us in this Congress, in both 
parties, feel that we have an obligation to our young men and women in 
uniform.
  I have beside me a photo of a flag-draped coffin being taken off a 
plane at Dover. My question is this: How many more flag-draped coffins 
are we going to see when we increase the number of troops in 
Afghanistan without one word from Congress--not one word?
  Mr. Speaker, we do owe it to the American people who pay their taxes, 
we do owe it to the parents whose young men and women will go and die 
for America. We do owe it to have a debate on the floor of the House. 
It has been 16 years since we have had a debate.
  God help America and, please, God bless America.

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