Political Quotes

On the recordOctober 4, 2011
We have been in Afghanistan for 10 years. Two years ago, on the eighth anniversary of our invasion of Afghanistan, I stood in this same spot and asked: Have our 8 years, 791 American deaths, and billions of U.S. dollars spent in Afghanistan made America safer? My conclusion, sadly, was no. Two years later, I am left asking the same questions and reaching the same conclusions: al-Qaeda is still not primarily in Afghanistan, but in Pakistan, Yemen, Africa and elsewhere. We still cannot afford a vast ground war and rebuilding effort abroad. We should be fighting a smaller, smarter war that goes after terrorists instead of building nations. It's time to get out of Afghanistan before another year passes and we are back here saying the same thing all over again. ____________________
Said by
Mike Quigley
Democratic · Illinois

Share

More from Mike Quigley

Dec 19, 2024

Now what? Yesterday, this body was prepared to pass a bipartisan spending bill to carry us into the new year and the new Congress. It was imperfect, yet it met many of our country's critical needs, especially disaster relief. Then, the…

govinfo.gov
Dec 12, 2023

Once again, President Zelenskyy is in Washington to make the case for the survival of his country and to show the American people and Congress why this war is so important. He shouldn't have to. As Americans, we have experienced fighting…

govinfo.gov
Apr 28, 2025

We want peace. Ukraine desperately wants peace but not as a result of what would be in effect a Putin-Russia victory. We want peace and not appeasement that would reward a brutal Russian invasion with land gains that officially recognize…

govinfo.gov
Sep 19, 2024

It is not surprising, but I disagree with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle on a myriad of issues, but that is okay. At times, disagreement is important. Only speaking with those who agree with us insulates us from ideas that…

govinfo.gov

Other voices in this conversation