This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz made an emotional plea to withdraw the military from Afghanistan and end the nation's longest war.
He was one of only eight Republicans and 93 House members to back the House resolution directing President Barack Obama to remove the troops. It's not a new position from the Utah Republican, but he has never so forcefully stated his case as he did on the House floor Thursday.
"A politically correct war is a lost war. At the present time, we are playing politics," he said, arguing that the nation shouldn't rely on opinion polls to determine how long the military mission continues. "We are propping up a government that's fundamentally corrupt, and we all know it. It won't get us where we want to go."
Chaffetz last visited Afghanistan in February and is now the chairman of a House subcommittee that will oversee spending in the war. While he said the security situation has improved throughout the years, he sees no discernible end to the conflict and believes the nation is unnecessarily putting its troops in harm's way.
"The president of the United States has failed to define success in Afghanistan," Chaffetz said. "We are participating in the business of nation-building."
The congressman also got choked up when he named the four soldiers from his area of the state who have died in Afghanistan since he was elected in 2008 — Army Pfc. Aaron Nemelka; Marine Lance Cpl. Carlos Aragon; Marine Lance Cpl. Nigel Olsen; and Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Wagstaff. He carries a card with their names and the number of U.S. troops who have died in Afghanistan in his wallet.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, were among the 321 lawmakers who opposed the resolution.