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Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich) for yielding me half of his time, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, we are debating how long we are going to be in Afghanistan. Recently, Secretary Gates testified before the Armed Services Committee, which I serve on, and said that he thought by 2014 we could start substantial reduction in our troop strength in Afghanistan, 2014, that it might be 2015, 2016.
That's why this debate and this resolution is so important, not important for those of us in the House, but important for our military and the American people.
And Mr. Kucinich did make reference to The Washington Post-ABC poll that was taken a couple of days ago that said 73 percent of the American people said it's time, this year, to bring our troops home.
In addition, I would like to share a quote from the leader of Afghanistan, Mr. Karzai. He's our man in Afghanistan. All right, now, he's our man. This was his quote 3 days ago: ``I request that NATO and America should stop these operations on our soil,'' Karzai said. ``This war is not on our soil. If this war is against terror, then this war is not here. Terror is not here.''
The number of al Qaeda and their presence in Afghanistan is about 20 or 30. Most of them are in Pakistan. I would agree with that. But this debate is critical.
Before I reserve the balance of my time, I want to share very quickly a letter from a retired colonel who's a marine that lives in my district: ``I am writing this letter to express my concern over the current Afghanistan war. I am a retired marine officer with 31-plus years of active duty. I retired in 2004 due to service limitations, or I am sure I would have been on my third or fourth deployment by now to a war that has gone on too long.''
And I'll go to the bottom of this: ``It makes no sense if we're there 4 years or 40. The results will be the same.''
And he closed his letter this way: ``This war is costing the United States billions of dollars a month to wage, and we still continue to get more young Americans killed. The Afghan war has no end state for us.
``I urge you to make contact with all the current and newly elected men and women in Congress and ask them to end this war and bring our young men and women home. If any of my comments will assist in this effort, you are welcome to use them and my name.
``Respectfully, Dennis G. Adams, Lieutenant Colonel retired, United States Marine Corps.''
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, we will be debating this probably in 2015 or 2016. If I am not here, somebody else will be, because that is how long we are going to be there.
This general that served in the Marine Corps that has advised me for 11 months, back in November I asked: ``What do you think about 4 more years?''
I am just going to read part of his email:
``I do not believe that 40 more years would guarantee victory, whatever that is; so 4 will do nothing. The war is costing money and lives, all in short supply.''
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Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I am grateful that we are having this debate from both sides, those that want to stay there for another 4 or 5 years versus those of us who would like to bring our troops home. I want to put a face on this debate if I may, Mr. Speaker.
This young man's name is Tyler Jordan from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is attending his father's funeral. He was a gunnery sergeant, Phillip Jordan, who was killed for this country. The 6-year-
old little boy, you can't see his eyes, but they hurt. They're pained.
How many more Tyler Jordans are going to be waiting for their daddy or mom to come home to be buried if we stay there 4, 5, 6, or 7 more years? And that is what has been indicated by the leadership of the military and this administration.
How many more moms and dads and wives and husbands are going to be at Dover Air Force Base to receive the remains of their loved ones? That is why this debate is so important, and why we need to have a date and a time to start bringing them home.
My last poster: this absolutely handsome couple. The marine went out with PTSD. His beautiful wife, Katie, and his little boy. Last year at Camp Lejeune, McHugh Boulevard, he pulls his car over in the middle of the day, and he shoots himself in the head and kills himself.
How many more Tom Bagosys will commit suicide? How many Tyler Jordans will not have their daddies coming home? How many moms and dads, wives and husbands will be at Dover to see those in a flag-draped coffin?
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