Roland Burris: “The President stated that a responsible withdrawal of troops will begin in summer 2011.”

In July 2011 we believe--I am comfortable it is his intent we start to reduce the overall number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Although we do not always agree, as the debate on this floor will often show, I am always struck by the passion that drives each and every Senator to stand in this singular place in the world and to speak their mind. It is this passion…

Let us not abandon those men and women.

I do not have much longer in the Senate, but we ought to look at these private contractors.