Brian Jones: “On July 22, The New York Times published an article titled ``Afghan Security Forces Struggle Just to Maintain…”

“On July 22, The New York Times published an article titled ``Afghan Security Forces Struggle Just to Maintain Stalemate,'' by Joseph Goldstein. Mr. Goldstein writes that, because of extremely high casualty rates in the Afghan security forces, there is also a high desertion rate. As a result, the Afghans are struggling to maintain adequate numbers in their security forces, meaning, it is becoming extremely difficult for them to keep the Taliban at bay. The article is of great concern for those of us who have watched the fight against the Taliban since 2001. We have lost over 2,355 men and women in Afghanistan, with 20,000 wounded, and spent over $685 billion. The history of Afghanistan has shown that no outside military force has ever changed it, from Alexander the Great, to the British, to the Russians. Yet, last year the Obama administration signed a 9-year agreement, committing American money and manpower in Afghanistan that was not voted on by the Congress. That is so ironic. We are talking about voting on this agreement with Iran, but we did not vote to commit our troops and our money to Afghanistan for 9 more years. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I am concerned by Mr. Goldstein's report. Let me give two quotes from his article about the ability of the Afghan security forces to keep the Taliban at bay that I found very, very concerning. First: ``A spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry . . .…”