On the recordOctober 4, 2011
This week marks an anniversary we must acknowledge, but that we certainly cannot celebrate. This Friday, we will have spent 10 years at war in Afghanistan. We will have spent a decade fighting a war that the American people no longer support. The sobering 10th anniversary is the time for reflection--reflection on how our world has changed in the last 10 years. {time} 1020 This war has consumed an unjustifiable amount of our financial treasure, led to an unprecedented burden on our servicemembers, and changed forever how an entire generation of young people views the world. This anniversary is the time to reflect on the choices we've made and their impact on the world. Ten years later, we are still building war machines that have the potential to cause devastating harm to innocent people around the world. Ten years later, many of our Nation's best and brightest are coming home with scars, both physical and mental, that they and their families will live with forevermore. The numbers are against us. After a decade at war, we still have 90,000 soldiers fighting in Afghanistan. More than 1,800 Americans have died. Our Nation has spent $460 billion on an unwinnable war, and tens of thousands of innocent Afghans and Iraqis have been killed. It is well past the time for us to end this. In remembering the last 10 years, we must think of the future.…
