S.Amdt. 4092

SA 4092. Mr. MERKLEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the joint resolution S.J. Res. 54, to direct the removal of
United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen
that have not been authorized by Congress; which was ordered to lie on
the table; as follows:

At the end, add the following:

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON TRANSITION OF MILITARY AND
SECURITY OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) After al Qaeda attacked the United States on September
11, 2001, the United States Government rightly sought to
bring to justice those who attacked us, to eliminate al
Qaeda's safe havens and training camps in Afghanistan.
(2) Members of the Armed Forces, intelligence personnel,
and diplomatic corps have skillfully achieved these
objectives, culminating in the death of Osama bin Laden.
(3) Operation Enduring Freedom is now the longest military
operation in United States history, and United States
involvement in Afghanistan has exceeded $1,000,000,000,000 in
costs to the United States taxpayer and continues to cost
taxpayers over $45,000,000,000 a year.
(4) Members of the United States Armed Forces have served
in Afghanistan valiantly and with honor, and many have
sacrificed their lives and health in service to their
country;
(5) The United States has suffered more than 2,000
casualties in Afghanistan (including 13 in 2018 thus far),
and the United States has dropped more than 5,200 bombs this
year (through September 30), a record high.
(6) Secretary of Defense Mattis, reflecting consensus
within United States and international security experts, has
concluded that there is no military solution to the conflict
in Afghanistan, stating, ``It's all working to achieve a
political reconciliation, not a military victory. The victory
will be a political reconciliation.''
(7) Over the past 17 years, the mission of the United
States has evolved to include a prolonged nation-building
effort in Afghanistan.
(8) Such nation-building efforts in Afghanistan are
undermined by endemic corruption, high illiteracy, tribal
fractions, and a historic aversion to a strong central
government in that country.
(9) The United States Government will continue to support
the development of Afghanistan with a strong diplomatic and
counterterrorism presence in the region.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the President should complete the transition of the
responsibility for military and security operations in
Afghanistan to the Government of Afghanistan by September 18,
2021, the 20th anniversary of the enactment of Public Law
107-40, the Authorization for Use of Military Force against
those responsible for the attacks on September 11, 2001, in
conjunction with efforts by Special Representative for
Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad to seek a durable
peace between the Government of Afghanistan and the Taliban;
(2) reflecting press reports that the President seeks to
end the United States military engagement in Afghanistan by
2020, the President should devise a plan based on inputs from
Special Representative Khalilzad, military commanders, North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries, and
other allies in Afghanistan, and appropriate members of the
Cabinet, along with the consultation of Congress, for
completing the drawdown of United States combat troops in
Afghanistan and accelerating the transfer of security
authority to Afghan authorities; and
(3) not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the President should submit to Congress a
report--
(A) assessing progress made on the battlefield in
Afghanistan since the announcement of the President's New
South Asia Strategy and the increase in United States troops;
(B) assessing efforts by Special Representative Khalilzad
to foster a durable peace agreement between the Government of
Afghanistan and the Taliban; and
(C) including a plan for the complete transition of all
military and security operations in Afghanistan to the
Government of Afghanistan.
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