On the recordNovember 29, 2012
I rise in support of the amendment of my colleague, Senator Merkley from Oregon, his amendment on Afghanistan. I know we all have good ideas. We all have input here. We all have our own personal opinions. But it is time to bring our troops home from Afghanistan. They have been there since October 7, 2001. They have defeated al-Qaida, they have killed Osama bin Laden, and it is time to bring them home. Mr. President, 66,000 American combat troops still remain in Afghanistan. President Obama plans to reduce that number by ``a steady pace'' until they are moved completely out by the end of 2014. I would prefer a faster pace, as many of my colleague would, but as long as it did not jeopardize the safety of troops, because I think that is the most important thing we do. After all, the war has already surpassed the Vietnam war, your area and mine, Mr. President, as the longest in American history. It has already cost us dearly; more than 2,000 American troops have died for the cause and many thousands more have been maimed and more than $500 billion has been spent just in Afghanistan. Even so, I support the bipartisan amendment sponsored by Senator Merkley. It backs the President's current plan to end combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, but I support it because it also calls for a quicker transition of security operations from U.S. forces to Afghan security forces.…
