Political Quotes

“I appreciate this time to come and report back to this body and to the people of the Second District about my very quick but very informative weekend trip to Afghanistan where I was able to be cautiously encouraged by the progress that the Afghan National Army is making there. Mainly, my goal was to go and say ``thank you'' to the men and women of all the different branches and to let them know that they will not be forgotten by me, by my constituents or by the rest of us here in this body. I especially want to say ``thank you'' to our international partners--the Brits, the Aussies, the Germans, the Dutch, the Romanians--who are there with us along with many others who are pushing this effort forward. I also want to say ``thank you'' to the Embassy staff for their fine work and to the men and women of the Air National Guard, who are there sacrificing, especially those men and women from the 82nd Airborne, who hosted us in Kandahar. I also thank the marines at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province. I have to tell you, Mr. Speaker, I now proudly carry this challenge coin given to me by a new friend, a sergeant major from Michigan. I carry this in my pocket every day, and I want them to know that they will not be forgotten. ____________________”