Ben Cardin actually said...

"There are short-term gains to try to help in regard to our military objectives. There are long-term development goals that we are trying to achieve in Afghanistan."

"I agree with the chairman. I found your written testimony and your presentations here to be very, very helpful for us to truly understand the challenges that we have in Afghanistan."

"Part of the challenge of being a development professional in a place like Afghanistan is making sure that the important initiatives that are done to achieve short-term gains correspond with and suppor..."

"It is, certainly, a much different country than it was in 2001. A lot of progress has been made."