Brian Jones: “On July 18, I wrote to President Trump about my concern about the fact that he and Secretary of Defense Mattis are…”

“On July 18, I wrote to President Trump about my concern about the fact that he and Secretary of Defense Mattis are discussing how many more American troops must be sent to Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, you being a marine, you know that I represent Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. We have been there 16 years. Nothing has changed. In fact, it has gotten worse. I would like to read just a few sentences from my letter. Again, this was delivered to the White House on July 18. I am going to read just sentences very quickly. ``Disappointed because after 16 years in Afghanistan, Congress deserves another vote on this conflict. Disappointed because almost $1 trillion of taxpayers' money has been spent with no direct goal or strategy. And most importantly, I am disappointed because we continue to lose American lives. ``Sir, I am writing today because you seem to have had a change of heart on this issue.'' I gave four examples of positions he has taken and tweets that he has sent out. I am just going to read two of them, Mr. Speaker. ``In August of 2011, you agreed with Ron Paul and said the U.S. was `wasting lives and money in Iraq and Afghanistan.' '' Another tweet: ``The next year, you said on Twitter, `Do not allow our very stupid leaders to sign a deal that keeps us in Afghanistan through 2024--with all costs by USA . . . ' '' And the last I would like to read: ``You also tweeted that year, `Let's get out of Afghanistan.…”