Harry Reid: “the Senator from Minnesota and I acknowledge we tonight do not have the votes for this amendment. That is not to take…”

“the Senator from Minnesota and I acknowledge we tonight do not have the votes for this amendment. That is not to take away from the severity and the importance of this amendment. The people of Afghanistan deserve this. All the attention is focused on Iraq, a little bit on Afghanistan. But you look at the numbers here, with what was given last year, plus the supplemental to Afghanistan, this is only about half as much money as they got last year. Afghanistan is a place where Pat Tillman gave his life and about 35 or 40 other Americans. I think it is wrong that we are not reaching out to this country we abandoned on a previous occasion. I would hope that everyone here recognizes that the Senator from Minnesota and I will be back on this issue. This is an issue that is important to our country, to maintain the dignity of our country, to show that we do not give up on our friends. And Afghanistan is our friend. I compliment and applaud the Senator from Minnesota for being the kind of person he is, to care about people who need caring about. If there were ever a society that needs help, it is the people of Afghanistan. This is not money for more guns and tanks and airplanes. It is money to help build that country up from the grassroots, so to speak, to help them become more than what they now are. And that is what they deserve.”