On the recordMarch 10, 2010
I can't muster optimism for a war that's been going on for 8 rac{1}{2} years and still hasn't achieved its objectives, nor has it defeated the enemy. In fact, it's hard to be optimistic now that we have lost more than 1,000 brave Americans in Afghanistan, nearly one-third of them since this last summer. Frankly, Mr. Speaker, I am downright pessimistic about the government we are propping up in Afghanistan, which seems to reach a new low for corruption and incompetence every single day. That is why I enthusiastically support the resolution offered by my friend, the gentleman from Ohio, to bring our troops home from Afghanistan by the end of the year at the latest. The fact is that our military presence is what is fueling the very insurgency we are trying to defeat. You would think we would have learned a lesson of history by now, actually. The Afghan people have always resisted occupation, whether it was Great Britain in the 19th century or the Soviet Union just 30 years ago. Madam Speaker, ending the war does not mean ending American support.
