Politics & Government

Walsh: Time For U.S. To Get Out of Afghanistan

Republican Congressman Joe Walsh addressed constituents during a town hall meeting at Harper College in Palatine Monday.

Congressman Joe Walsh said Monday that it is time for America to bring the troops home from Afghanistan.

"I have moved on this issue," Walsh said. "I think we need to come home right now."

Walsh, a Republican, represents the 8th Congressional District, which includes most of Palatine.

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Walsh's comments came during a town hall meeting at Harper College and just days after 38 people were killed in Afghanistan when a Chinook helicopter was shot down. The dead included 30 U.S. troops, seven Afghan soldiers and an Afghan interpreter.

Schaumburg resident Mike Madia raised the issue in a statement he made to Walsh during the town hall.

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"I finally came to a realization that I am very uncomfortable with," Madia, a self-described hawk, said. "After this recent tragedy I really started looking into this situation in my mind and what has transpired."

Madia said he did not believe the U.S. could accomplish its goals, citing rampant corruption, among other factors.

"We should leave," Madia said. "I don't want to be a quitter, but I feel like we aren't getting anywhere and we are losing all of these great guys and all of this money."

Walsh said he agreed that it was time to leave.

"I said a lot during the campaign, 'we need to stay there,' 'we need to stick it out,' 'we need to win,' " Walsh said. "And then it started to get a lot harder and harder to explain what winning meant."

The Palatine town hall was the fifth of 10 Walsh is hosting in 10 days. Walsh scheduled the town halls after allegations surfaced that he owes .

Walsh made a statement addressing the , asserting that it is a private issue, that he is a good father and that he will "fight those allegations until his last breath." There were no questions from the audience on the topic.

Most of the discussion focused on the U.S. debt ceiling being raised – which Walsh voted against – the federal budget deficit and Standard & Poor's recent decision to downgrade the federal government's credit rating.

Walsh, as he has done previously, called for the federal government to cut spending and cut taxes. One audience member, a small business owner, said he thought his tax rate was fine but that high unemployment was a problem.

Walsh said he disagreed with the man about taxes. As for jobs, Walsh said that uncertainty out of Washington was causing companies to be hesitant in hiring.

"Our jobs policy is pretty simple," Walsh said. "Get government out of the way."


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