Lynn C. Woolsey: “Our Nation is now in its 10th straight year of war. The military occupation of Afghanistan is longer than any war in our…”

“Our Nation is now in its 10th straight year of war. The military occupation of Afghanistan is longer than any war in our Nation's history. An entire generation of young people-- including my three grandchildren who came with me to visit Washington for the swearing in--is growing up knowing nothing but a Nation at war. This war is not just a moral abomination with devastating human costs, and it is not just fiscally irresponsible and unsustainable with a price tag of about $370 billion, though it most certainly is all of that. Perhaps the most tragic irony of this war is, for all of the sacrifice, it is not even doing what it was supposed to do: keeping us safe and defeating a terrorist threat. If Iraq and Afghanistan have proven anything to us, Mr. Speaker, it is that we need an entirely new national security model; one that emphasizes brain over brawn; one that uses soft power instead of hard; one that protects America by relying on the most honorable American values--love of freedom, desire for peace, moral leadership, and compassion for the people of the world. With these values in mind, this week I once again introduced a resolution calling for the adoption of a SMART Security platform.”