Brian Jones: “When we were home during the Thanksgiving break, like all my colleagues, I did as much as I could to be with the people…”

“When we were home during the Thanksgiving break, like all my colleagues, I did as much as I could to be with the people of the Third District of North Carolina. The Third District is the home of Camp Lejeune Marine Base, Cherry Point Marine Air Station, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and over 60,000 retired veterans in the Third District. Since coming back to Washington, I've done two town meetings by phone. What I heard while I was home during Thanksgiving and the two town meetings: Why are we still in Afghanistan? When I hear my colleagues in both parties talking about the problems facing the American people--unemployment benefits, extending the tax cuts for middle class America--we all grapple with, both parties, how we are going to pay for it. Well, there is a man in Afghanistan that is a crook and corrupt, who gets $10 billion a month that he doesn't have to worry about. Poor Americans are out here doing the best they can in a very difficult economy, and we can't help them, but we can help a corrupt leader in Afghanistan. It makes no sense. I hope that this Congress will come together and say to the President, let's not wait till 2014. How many more American boys and girls will have to die and give their legs in the next 3 years for a corrupt leader? I've asked the Department of Defense, and I wrote Secretary Panetta and asked him that question. Give me your projections of how many more young men and women will have to die and lose their legs.…”