S.Amdt. 92

SA 92. Mr. MERKLEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 65 proposed by Mr. McConnell (for himself, Mr. Graham, Mr.
Blunt, Mr. Burr, Mr. Romney, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Rubio, Mr.
Sasse, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Tillis,
Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Young, and Mr.
Boozman) to the bill S. 1, to make improvements to certain defense and
security assistance provisions and to authorize the appropriation of
funds to Israel, to reauthorize the United States-Jordan Defense
Cooperation Act of 2015, and to halt the wholesale slaughter of the
Syrian people, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the
table; as follows:

Strike ``ON WITHDRAWALS OF UNITED STATES FORCES FROM SYRIA
AND AFGHANISTAN'' and all that follows through ``Syria or
Afghanistan'' and insert:
``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 was the longest military
operation in United States history, and combined with
Operation Freedom's Sentinel the 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 deaths
in Afghanistan (including at least 13 in 2018), and the
United States has dropped more than 5,200 bombs in 2018, a
record high.
(6) Former Secretary of Defense Jim 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 announcement by Special Representative for
Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad that the United
States and the Taliban agreed on a draft framework that could
lead to the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from
Afghanistan and that ``[t]he Taliban have committed, to [the
Administration's] satisfaction, to do what is necessary that
would prevent Afghanistan from ever becoming a platform for
international terrorist groups or individuals'' should be
welcomed and a reflection of an appropriate diplomatic
approach to end U.S. military involvement in the country.
(2) the President should complete the transition of the
responsibility for military and security operations in
Afghanistan to the Government of Afghanistan as soon as
possible but no later than 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 to turn the draft framework into a
durable peace between the Government of Afghanistan and the
Taliban;
(3) the U.S. should re-double diplomatic efforts to support
our Afghan partners as they prepare to hold presidential
elections in 2019;
(4) any cost savings resulting from a troop withdrawal
should be re-programmed to increase bilateral humanitarian
assistance and to maintain gains in human rights to include
advances made for women and girls to Afghanistan in an amount
no less than one percent of the annual cost to the U.S.
budget of our military engagement in Afghanistan in fiscal
year 2018; and
(5) not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the President should submit to Congress a
report--
(A) including a plan for the complete transition of all
military and security operations in Afghanistan to the
Government of Afghanistan.
(B) assessing the likely humanitarian needs of Afghanistan
in the ten years following a U.S. military withdrawal; and
(C) assessing efforts by Special Representative Khalilzad
to turn the draft framework reached with the Taliban into a
durable peace agreement between the Government of Afghanistan
and the Taliban.
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