Political Quotes

“It was an ancient Greek playwright who originally said: ``Trust is the first casualty of war.'' More than 2,500 years later, those words still hold painfully and tragically true. Tomorrow afternoon, I will join several of my colleagues in meeting with Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis who has embarked on a brave truth- telling campaign about the war in Afghanistan. {time} 1010 After two combat deployments to Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Davis has written two reports--one classified, one unclassified--in which he tells what he has seen. As part of his assignment with the Rapid Equipping Force, he traveled across Afghanistan several times, spanning some 9,000 miles, and visited with hundreds of troops as well as with Afghan civilians and Afghan security forces. What he saw were Afghan police who stay in the safe harbor of their checkpoints while allowing the Taliban to roam free. What he saw were Afghan local governments completely unprepared to protect and provide for their people. What he heard were stories of, in his words, ``how insurgents controlled virtually every piece of land beyond eyeshot of a U.S. or International Security Assistance Force base.'' Madam Speaker, this is not exactly the story we've been getting from top military brass when they report on the status of the Afghanistan war. Lieutenant Colonel Davis' experience is yet one more example of how we're not getting the entire story. As he puts it: Senior ranking U.S.…”