America cannot afford to continue nation building in Afghanistan

[TIAFE]

Got this article from Gary Johnson's facebook. It is worth checking out. If only Washington could get the message!

http://ouramericainitiative.com/news...ghanistan.html

GOVERNOR GARY JOHNSON, HONORARY CHAIRMAN OF OUR AMERICA INITIATIVE, SPEAKS OUT AGAINST NATION BUILDING IN AFGHANISTAN

Former Governor of New Mexico applauds House members who voted against additional funding for war in Afghanistan; says we cannot afford to spend money we do not have


August 5, 2010, Santa Fe, NM —Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico and Honorary Chairman of the OUR America Initiative, today commended the political courage of the 12 Republican Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, who, along with Democrats, voted against $33 billion in additional funding for continued nation-building in Afghanistan. With the United States facing its highest monthly casualty toll since the war began in 2001 – 66 total casualties in July of 2010 – Governor Johnson believes that now is the time to put an end to the spending and bring our troops home.

“I was in favor of the initial involvement in Afghanistan following the September 11th terrorist attacks, because I felt that our efforts were just, and that we had to track down Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. However, the security risk to the United States does not exist in Afghanistan today as it did in 2001,” Johnson said. “We should bring our troops home, stop risking American lives, and put an end to further casualties. We simply cannot afford to spend money that we do not have to build roads, bridges, schools and hospitals in Afghanistan. We are currently broke, and borrowing $.43 out of every dollar to nation build in Afghanistan is just not an effective or reasonable investment for our country.”

As Governor of New Mexico, from 1994 to 2002, Johnson was known for his common-sense business approach to governing. He eliminated New Mexico’s budget deficit and cut the rate of growth in state government in half. During his term, New Mexico experienced the longest period without a tax increase in the state’s history. Additionally, Governor Johnson vetoed 750 bills (which was more than all the combined vetoes of the other 49 Governors in the country at the time) and thousands of line item vetoed bills. He is known for his creation of a level playing field in business, and the prevention of favoritism in regulation and laws.

Johnson calls for the implementation of budget management to military spending. “Defense spending needs to be managed efficiently just like any other government budget,” he stated. “We simply cannot continue spending money we do not have.”

Since the launch of the OUR America Initiative in December, 2009, Governor Johnson has traveled to 24 states to engage the public in dialogue regarding pertinent issues of the day, such as: lowering taxes, cutting deficits, creating jobs, the implications of immigration reform, the failure of the war on drugs and a return to

[Seraphim]

No nation can afford to build another nation. Period. The best you can do is peacefully trade in a fashion that is positive for both parties (to ensure future trading) and build that way.