Lynn C. Woolsey: “The United States is reaching a bleak milestone in Afghanistan. The death toll for our troops is now 996, or it was when…”

“The United States is reaching a bleak milestone in Afghanistan. The death toll for our troops is now 996, or it was when this paper was written. It is inevitable that we will reach the 1,000 mark. How much further are we going to go in this? Under these circumstances the American people have the right to demand that the Afghan Government do everything it can to stop violent extremism in their country and to keep our troops safe. So far the Afghan Government has not lived up to its responsibilities. Our Ambassador in Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, wrote a cable to the State Department in November in which he said that President Karzai "is not an adequate strategic partner" and "continues to shun responsibility for any sovereign burden, whether defense, governance, or development." He also wrote that when it comes to corruption, Karzai has a record of "inaction and grudging compliance." This is outrageous, Mr. Speaker, because this government corruption undermines our very efforts in Afghanistan and puts our troops at risk.”