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By David Alexander | WASHINGTON | Wed Jul 18, 2012 7:45pm EDT | Reuters

Condemning the war in Afghanistan as a waste of lives and money, U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday
debated whether to approve $608 billion in defense spending next year.

A string of war-weary lawmakers from both parties in the House of Representatives expressed anger
with corruption in the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, skepticism about any lasting
progress toward resolving the conflict and exhaustion over the unending cost in lives and treasure.



"I cannot continue to support legislation that sends billions and billions and billions of dollars to
Afghanistan," said Republican Representative Walter Jones, whose district in North
Carolina includes Camp Lejeune, the largest Marine Corps base on the U.S. East Coast.

"I have signed over 10,474 letters to families who have lost loved ones since we were lied to go into
Iraq," Jones added. "It is time that the Congress listen to 72 percent of the American people who
say: bring our troops home now, not later."



Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican who fought with the mujahideen against
the Soviet occupation forces during a visit to Afghanistan in the 1980s, said the U.S.-led war was
like a "Twilight Zone episode" and "the longer we stay there, the more enemies we're going to make."

"Osama bin Laden is dead. The Taliban were cleared from Afghanistan years ago," he said. "So it's
time for us to declare victory and bring our troops home."

Representative Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, said the nation-building policy adopted by the
United States in Afghanistan would be "seen through the lens of history as about as effective as
trench warfare in World War One."

"You need an ally that's going to be a partner with you. The Karzai government is corrupt," Welch
said. "So the question becomes, at what point do we step back."



It was unclear what impact the war opposition would have on the final outcome of the defense
appropriations package. Some lawmakers said they would propose amendments in an effort to
force action, but most remarks came in general debate and were not tied to efforts to alter the bill.

Debate on the measure was expected to continue through Friday. The final version will have to be
reconciled with a similar Senate bill before it can be sent to Obama to sign into law. It is not clear
when the Senate will take up its defense bill.