Brian Jones: “Over the weekend, I read an article by the Associated Press that the French have made a decision to fast-track their…”

“Over the weekend, I read an article by the Associated Press that the French have made a decision to fast-track their withdrawal from Afghanistan and bring troops home by the end of 2013 instead of the end of 2014. If France follows through with this accelerated drawdown, they will join other countries like Canada and the Netherlands, who have also drawn down their forces in recent years. I believe these countries are on the right track. The Department of Defense has recently been asked to find over $490 billion in cuts. We are currently spending $10 billion a month, which equates to $120 billion a year, in Afghanistan. By bringing our troops home now, we would be saving hundreds of billions of dollars, which would prevent the Department of Defense from cutting other military programs. It simply is common sense to bring our troops home now and not wait. Mr. Speaker, I would like to quote from a January 20, 2012, New York Times article by Matthew Rosenberg, titled, ``Afghanistan's Soldiers Step Up Killings of Allied Forces'': ``American and other coalition forces here are being killed in increasing numbers by the very Afghan soldiers they fight alongside and train, in attacks motivated by deep-seated animosity between the supposedly allied forces, according to American and Afghan officers and a classified coalition report obtained by The New York Times.'' Mr.…”