U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones: Time to leave Afghanistan

Thank you for publishing Kurt Becker’s Oct. 8 letter “Time to leave Afghanistan.” I couldn’t agree more.

Since 2001, we’ve spent over $686 billion and lost over 2,000 of our service members in Afghanistan. Over 20,000 have been wounded.

How much money will we borrow, and how many lives and limbs will be lost, before we stop this fool’s errand?

I’ve worked with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to have the House of Representatives debate whether staying in Afghanistan for eight more years is worth it. I heartily believe it isn’t.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, over the next eight years we will spend another $30 billion a year there. No matter how much blood and borrowed money America invests, history has proved that we will never change this tribal nation. It is truly the graveyard of empires. Let’s not make America part of the graveyard.

Let’s focus on fixing our problems here at home.

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones: Time to leave Afghanistan."