Political Quotes

“I rise to speak on a topic I have often spoken about on the floor. We have been at continuous war since September 14, 2001, when Congress passed an Authorization for Use of Military Force to go after the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks. That was 16 years, 1 month, and 18 days ago as of today. The war in Afghanistan is the longest armed conflict in America's history, and it shows no signs of abating, even 6 years after the death of Osama bin Laden. The conflict has been going on for so long that many are somewhat immune to it. I heard a high schooler recently say: War is all I have ever known. It is the status quo. It is the background music to daily life. Yet only 0.4 percent of the population of the United States serves in the military. That is down from 1.8 percent in 1968 and 8.7 percent in 1945, so it is increasingly unlikely that many of us even know those who are deployed and fighting in this ever-expanding global conflict. Sadly, last week, for tragic reasons, these issues were brought to the forefront with the death of four brave American servicemembers in Niger: Army SGT La David Johnson, SGT Bryan Black, SGT Jeremiah Johnson, and SGT Dustin Wright. Two of those killed--the two Sergeants Johnson--were part of a 12-man patrol whose mission is not clear. We know that their trained military occupational specialties--vehicle mechanic and chemical-biological specialist--were outside traditional combat roles.…”