Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced legislation Tuesday morning that would end the war in Afghanistan and give $2,500 bonuses to those who served in the War on Terror.
The war in Afghanistan started in October 2001 and is the longest war in U.S. history. So far, the War on Terror has cost the American taxpayers $6 trillion, with an annual expense of $45 billion in 2018. Beyond the financial costs, around 3,200 American lives were lost on the battlefield along with 20,000 who were wounded.
Sen. Paul argued that, while he supported going to war after the attacks on September 11, 2001, he believes that battle is won. He doesn’t believe Americans should stay in the Middle East to continue “nation-building.”
This week, I am introducing legislation to end a war that should have ended long ago, the war in Afghanistan. The United States has been fighting the War on Terror since October of 2001 and it has cost 6 trillion dollars. pic.twitter.com/UBxeq0NsQe
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 5, 2019
“I supported going to war in Afghanistan in 2001, attacking those who harbored the 9/11 terrorists or helped organize the attack on 9/11 and going after Al-Qaeda. But we are many, many years past that mission. We have turned to nation-building at a cost of over $50 billion dollars a year spent in Afghanistan. It’s important to know when to declare victory and leave a war. I think that time is long past, but hopefully, we can all agree that the time has come.”– READ MORE