Christmas Eve is a time to gather with friends and family to reflect on the good things in life. It's a time to share our joys and our hopes for peace on earth and good will towards all.
This year Christmas Eve has a sad and ironic twist to it however.
As we begin our deployment of 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, this Christmas Eve will also mark the 3,000th day of the war in Afghanistan and the 30th anniversary of the initial Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Thus far, this war has already cost the American taxpayer a minimum of $300,000,000,000 according to the Congressional Research Service (and that's just the funding that's "on budget").
Sadly, the fact that we're spending about $101 million per day in this war is the good news. The financial cost of this war is nothing compared to the fact that 937 American troops have been killed, and 4,434 have been wounded (and that's not counting the thousands more that will carry the memories of this war for their entire lives).
Exactly 50 days ago from Christmas Eve, because of all of these reasons, I took to the floor of the House and formalized my call for an end to this war of occupation and attrition.
As a 24-year retired military officer and former special assistant to the then Supreme Commander of NATO, General Wesley Clark, I am deeply troubled by the fact that we have yet to even define victory. Having recently witnessed an election where Hamid Karzai "won" despite having about 1/3 of his ballots thrown out for election fraud, I also know that we cannot continue engaging in nation building by partnering with one of the most corrupt narco-governments in the world. Additionally, being on the House Armed Services Committee and having listened to the testimony of General Stanley McChrystal, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, there is nothing that convinces me that we can force Democracy on a tribal people through continued military occupation or escalation.
History has shown us what happens when military forces try to occupy Afghanistan, and we can learn a lot from the Russian invasion which began on December 24th, 1979.
Our friends at the Brave New Foundation have been working on an ongoing project called ReThink Afghanistan and today, they released a great piece on the lessons we can learn from the Russian invasion. I HIGHLY recommend watching this video and sharing it with your friends and family:
So what can we do?
Last week, I signed onto a letter with several members of Congress to demand a Congressional debate followed by an up or down vote in the House on the escalation. It has been eight years since Congress has had any sort of meaningful debate on this critical issue and the public deserves to know where their member of Congress stands.
This is where you can help
If you agree that the American people deserve an up or down vote on the escalation in Afghanistan, then I urge you to call your member of Congress and Senators to tell them to support an Up or Down vote on this issue.
Nothing gets the attention of a member of Congress quite like returning from the holidays to discover 500 voicemails demanding action.
You can find your Congressman or Congresswoman by visiting house.gov.
You can find your Senators by visiting senate.gov.
Let's declare that enough is enough on this 3,000th day of the war in Afghanistan. It's time to bring our troops home.
P.S. Don't forget to recommend this post and send an email to your friends and family to recruit their help.
Follow Rep. Eric J.J. Massa on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ericmassa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbOdKVBoI8c&feature=response_watch
Amazing Speech by a War Veteran -- video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akm3nYN8aG8&feature=player_embedded#
30th anniversary of the initial Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979
3,000th day of the war in Afghanistan
30,000 additional troops deployed
$300,000,000,000: this war has already cost the American taxpayer (minimum)
A lot of 3's...interesting.
bankruptcy for the invader and occupier.
massive suffering for the nation under the invaders puppet gov
please note most americans do not want to give up their super power status even with bankruptcy
americans are imperialists to the core, repubs, liberals and progressives alike
check out their voting records for evidence.
it is interesting to watch a country self destruct and not have a clue why it is happening to them
everyone feels like a victim and blames everyone else.
americans want capitalism without the evil side effects.
americans want to be a super power without the evil side effects
americans want to make mega profits off the sick and needy without the evil side effects.
do they think that guy was kidding 2000 years ago when he stated what we sow we reap.
do you believe america can have free for all deregulated capitalism, mega military, mega industrial military complex, nation building, corp fascism. open borders for cheap labor, religion in politics, etc without a massive meltdown????????
I think it's time for the Draft,so that every mother's son is on the field. That will help control the length of these wars.I remember the Viet Nam war,and I don't remember the National Guard being "over there".
When we have emergencies in this country,we were able to call out the National Guard. Not when they are in Iraq, or Afghanistan. This happened because W's team wanted to fight two wars,and didn't have the troops. Does anybody remember whether we've done it this way before Iraq?
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/july-dec09/mcchrystal_12-10.html
Yahoo! Victory in Afghanistan! Has anyone defined it? Does anyone, other than the families of dead soldliers care.
No, no one does. Time to leave. Well past time.
Oh yeah, bin Laden. Our armies can't find him, perhaps our drones can. Perhaps we need a partner in Pakistan that isn't hiding him. We are so being played.
Get them out,,,now.
Imagine, Red Dawn, but maybe make it Crescent Dawn?
Why is it acceptable for our country to continue with such folly?
"The truce began on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1914, when German troops began decorating the area around their trenches in the region of Ypres, Belgium, for Christmas. They began by placing candles on trees, then continued the celebration by singing Christmas carols, most notably Stille Nacht (Silent Night). The Scottish troops in the trenches across from them responded by singing English carols.
The two sides continued by shouting Christmas greetings to each other. Soon thereafter, there were calls for visits across the "No Man's Land" where small gifts were exchanged — whisky, jam, cigars, chocolate, and the like. The soldiers exchanged gifts, sometimes addresses, and drank together. The artillery in the region fell silent that night. The truce also allowed a breathing spell where recently-fallen soldiers could be brought back behind their lines by burial parties. Proper burials took place as soldiers from both sides mourned the dead together and paid their respects. At one funeral in No Man's Land, soldiers from both sides gathered and read a passage from the 23rd Psalm:
The truce spread to other areas of the lines, and there are many stories of football matches between the opposing forces.
In many sectors, the truce lasted through Christmas night, but in some areas, it continued until New Year's Day.
The truce occurred in spite of opposition at higher levels of the military.
Choose peace.
Best wishes for Christmas and 2010.
:-)
http://www.suburbanempire.com/content/its-nobel-piece-prizenot-peace-prize
There will be no peace this or any other Christmas so long as our defense industry needs profit.
".......and let it begin with me"
Best wishes for Christmas and 2010!
An ignorant society is a dangerous society, and dont worry when the Afghans get tired of us ,, we wont be there anymore! Im sorry we went to Iraq . We could have done so much more for these people.
Doesn't the army teach you guys anything any more...
Socialists...astounding, no wonder we'll never win...
And after we've been there 100 years I hope your letter survives to show people why we were stupid enough to buy into the notion that we can solve all the worlds problems by ourselves.
Or, we can scale down and start talking to the Taliban. They live there and the last election wasn't by any means legitimate.
However, seeing how you capitalized "socialist" I already know where you sympathy lies and it lies with leveling the place and wait for them to cry Uncle Sam.
As for the children, I imagine they really enjoy every time an errant attack on our part gets them or a parent or uncle or aunt killed. Also, when are the Afghans going to seriously stand up for what they want? In case you forgot, it's their country.