Its' Time to Bring our Troops Home

Floor Speech

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, last Tuesday, Congresswoman Sue Myrick and I went to visit the wounded at Walter Reed. These trips are always a vivid reminder of the true cost of war. Seeing the men and women who have lost limbs for this country make we wonder how many more are going to be in that hospital, both at Walter Reed and Bethesda, with severe wounds.

After hearing Secretary Gates, and I have great respect for Secretary Gates, but he has made it clear that we will be in Afghanistan until 2014. He said it will be 2014 or 2015 before we can start substantially bringing down the number of troops in that country. Here we are in Washington battling right now about the 2011 budget, what should we do or not do and cut this and cut that, yet we seem to find $8 billion a month for a corrupt leader in Afghanistan named Karzai. He's corrupt and his government is corrupt. Yet we're saying to the American people, if you're a senior, we can't be sure that you can get a sandwich at the senior citizen center in your county. We're saying to the children that cannot afford milk at home, there will be no programs for you. But yet we can find $8 billion a month for a corrupt leader in a country in a war that we cannot win.

Our troops have already won, but history says you will not change Afghanistan--and I won't go through the history because of time. One day Karzai likes American troops being over there and the next day he doesn't like American troops being there. In fact, in December 2010 in the Washington Post, and I will paraphrase this, Karzai said to General Petraeus:

I have three main enemies--the Taliban, the Americans, and the international community. If I had to choose a friend today--and again, this is the President of Afghanistan--I would choose the Taliban.

They're the ones killing Americans and blowing their legs off and their arms off. How much longer does this have to go on?

I say to my colleagues in both parties, join Representative Kucinich, Ron Paul and myself--and many others--let's bring our troops home.

I have a photograph here, Mr. Speaker, that was in the Raleigh, North Carolina, paper about a year ago. This is a young Army sergeant. His legs are gone. They've been blown off. His right arm has been blown off and he has a left arm. He is what they call a triple amputee. His lovely wife is there pushing the wheelchair.

Mr. Speaker, it's time for the American people to say to those of us in Congress, do not keep our troops there until 2014, 2015, 2016 for a corrupt leader. It's time to bring our troops home.

I have the fortune of representing Camp Lejeune Marine Base in my district. I talk to the Marines, who are as brave as brave can be, that have been there three, four and five times. I've talked to the families as they're breaking up, the families when their loved one has committed suicide upon returning from Afghanistan. It's time to bring them home. How many more will be like this sergeant, without legs, without arms?

Mr. Speaker, last week on Tuesday, Sue Myrick and I saw two young men, one from Florida and one from Nevada, that have no body parts below their waist. The body parts are gone. Everything is gone. Wake up, Congress, and let's bring our troops home from Afghanistan.

My close is this, Mr. Speaker: I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform. I ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. I ask God, in His loving arms, to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mr. Speaker, I ask God to bless the House and Senate, that we will do what is right in God's eyes. I will ask God to give wisdom, strength, and courage to President Obama that he will do what is right in the eyes of God. And I will ask three times: God please, God please, God please continue to bless America.

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