Joe Courtney actually said...

"We cannot stay in Afghanistan forever for a wide variety of reasons."

"We want to deny Al Qaeda the ability to return to Afghanistan and use it as a safe haven."

"We cannot be a permanent crutch. We have to transition."

"For the record, I mean since 1985 when sequestration was first enacted after Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, Congress never let it go this far."