Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the McGovern amendment, because I believe it puts us on the best path to successfully completing our mission in Afghanistan. I think it is very reasoned and very well thought out. One of the keys to successfully completing this mission is to hand over responsibility to the Afghan people for their security and for their government. The McGovern amendment does not say pull all the troops out now at the end of the month or at the end of the year. It says we must begin, we must put in place a plan for drawing down so we can shift that responsibility. I also agree with some of my colleagues who oppose the amendment. I think our men and women in the Armed Forces in the last 6 months to a year have made enormous progress in Afghanistan. The surge of troops that President Obama called for has made a big difference and has put us in a better position to be successful in Afghanistan. But the genius of the McGovern amendment is to recognize that there is also a trap in that, because if we stay too long, the Afghan Government becomes dependent upon us in a way that stops them from being independent. Our goal, our mission in Afghanistan, is clear, despite many who say it isn't. We want a government in Afghanistan that can stand so that the Taliban and al Qaeda are not able to come back into that country.…”