John A. Boccieri: “This means that the Afghan Government needs to be fully functional, standing on its own with an army and police force…”

“This means that the Afghan Government needs to be fully functional, standing on its own with an army and police force capable of defending the country, and sealing the border with Pakistan; an economy that provides its citizens with an acceptable standard of living; and a reliable government and judicial structure that delivers critical services and enforces a uniform rule of law throughout the country. Afghanistan needs civilian investments, comparable if not bigger than our military investment. While securing Afghanistan is important to our national security, our troops cannot do it alone. It has been said that we need a foreign policy based on realism rather than idealism, and I concur with that. That's why I will not be supporting this resolution today. While I do support the gentleman's efforts to have this discussion, we need to take a very long-term strategy and find out how we do bring our troops home safely, honorably, and soon.”