Afghanistan

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, along with other Members of Congress, I attended a classified briefing on the swap of our soldier for the five Taliban leaders. I won't go into that, but I did have an opportunity to make a comment to the presenters.

I made a comment regarding my concern about the bilateral strategic agreement, known as BSA, and the fact that we continue to spend money in Afghanistan that we borrow from foreign nations.

Mr. Speaker, beside me today, I have a cartoon that was created by Mr. Milt Priggee, and it makes a point very well. It has Uncle Sam pointing out saying:

I want you.

Then the language beside it says:

To understand that if you can't afford to take care of your veterans, you can't afford to go to war.

Well, that makes my point very well because we seem to find all the money we need for Afghanistan to waste, and we know that waste, fraud, and abuse is worse today than it has ever been in the 12 years we have been in Afghanistan.

I would like to quote from the Daily Journal Online. The title is, ``No end for Afghanistan's war on the U.S. taxpayer.'' I want to read two paragraphs from this online article:

John Sopko, the inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), may have taken Uncle Sam and shaken him by the lapels last month, but the media missed it. In short, Afghanistan is on life support, and Joe Citizen is its permanent IV. From your pockets, Uncle Sam has taken $103 billion to build Afghanistan so far.

By the way, that figure doesn't include the cost of war-making. That is more money than we have spent on reconstruction for any one country in the history of the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I just heard the Congressman from Connecticut talking about the infrastructure of his State, as well as America, and the poor shape it is in, but yet we find all the money we need for Afghanistan, so we can build their roads, so that the Taliban can blow up the roads. It makes no sense.

Mr. Speaker, SIGAR, on the job since 2008, has produced 118 audits and inspection reports and made 23 quarterly reports to Congress. I have read a few of these, certainly not all, but all you have to do is hear Mr. Sopko speak or read some of the reports from his organization, and you will be disgusted, as I am disgusted, with the stupidity of continuing to find money for Afghanistan while we cut programs right here in America.

Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, I went to Walter Reed Hospital. I knew there were two marines who had been injured in Afghanistan from my district, Camp Lejeune, which is in the Third District of North Carolina.

I happened, while being there, to meet four soldiers, one a colonel from Fort Bragg, which is not in my district, but in North Carolina. All four had lost at least one leg. Then when I met this young man from Louisiana, who is a marine from Camp Lejeune, his father was standing beside him.

He had lost both legs and an arm, and he is 23 years of age. I looked in the eyes of the father, who could not have been more than 50. I saw pain. I saw hurt. I saw worry about the future of his son's life, missing two legs and an arm.

Why are we still sending troops to Afghanistan? Yes, we are going to cut the troops, but we are going to keep 9,000 to 10,000 there. The Taliban will still go after them and try to blow off their legs and kill them.

Mr. Speaker, I want to quote Pat Buchanan, who I have great respect for, particularly on foreign policy, because he and I agree:

Is it not a symptom of senility to be borrowing from the world so we can defend the world?

Let me repeat that:

Is it not a symptom of senility to be borrowing from the world so we can defend the world?

Mr. Speaker, I would put one word in there. I would change ``senility'' to ``stupidity,'' and I will read it now: Is it not a symptom of stupidity to be borrowing from the world, so we defend the world?

Mr. Speaker, again, Uncle Sam is saying, Don't spend money overseas when you have got problems right here in America and our veterans are not being adequately cared for.

Mr. Speaker, it is time to end the spending in Afghanistan. It is time to stop sending our troops over there to be killed and have their legs and arms blown off.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask God to continue to bless America and bless our men and women in uniform.

Source