On the recordJuly 9, 2013
I'm going to be on the floor again talking about the failed policy in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, most people in my district know that I've signed over 11,000 letters. They're condolence letters to families who've lost loved ones in Afghanistan and Iraq because of the unnecessary war we fought in Iraq. In the last 2 weeks, we were home for the July 4 break. There were two weekends. I've signed 16 letters to families in this Nation who have lost loved ones in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, it's almost like we in Congress don't know we're still at war; yet there are young men and women dying in Afghanistan and being wounded every day. The American people do not understand why we continue to fund this failed policy in Afghanistan. Each and every day the failures become clearer and clearer to the American people, but not to Congress. Most recently, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko warned that the Pentagon is moving ahead with plans to spend $771 million on aircraft, including 30 Russian helicopters for an Afghan military team. This purchase comes despite the fact that only seven of 47 Afghan Air Force pilots are qualified to fly the helicopters. As reported by CNN, an audit by Mr. Sopko explained that the reason so few pilots are able to fly the aircraft is that ``it's difficult to find literate recruits who don't have links to insurgents or criminals.'' Mr. Speaker, that should wake up the Congress, if nothing else.…
