Gohmert suggests military suicides up because of non-specific mission in Afghanistan

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) on Tuesday night suggested that the lack of a clear military mission in Afghanistan — where U.S. troops are expected to stay for another two years — may be driving higher suicide rates among members of the U.S. armed forces.

Gohmert started by calling on the Obama administration to either let the military conduct a real mission, or bring them home immediately. The U.S. is expected to have about 68,000 troops in Afghanistan going into 2013, but Gohmert said these troops have no clear mission and are not allowed to properly defend themselves, which he said is leading to low troop morale in Afghanistan.

"I have to speak on behalf of our men and women and our military," Gohmert said in remarks on the House floor. "And I have to beg… that our leaders in Washington, in particular the leader, the commander in chief, either give our military a proper mission or get them out of Afghanistan.

"Give them proper rules of engagement or get them out now. Don't make them sit around for two years wondering if they're going to be the next ones that leave in a casket."

Gohmert then added that U.S. troops could be used to cut off supplies that the Taliban receives from Pakistan.

"Give them the orders to defeat the Taliban, come hell or high water, do it now, and then come home, or bring them home now. We owe them that much. Is there any wonder the suicide rate is so high?"

Suicides among members of the Armed Forces increased sharply in 2012 service-wide.

Gohmert also pointed out that while the war in Afghanistan has gone on for more than seven years under the Bush administration, and about half of that time under Obama, 70 percent of the U.S. lives lost in Afghanistan have taken place under Obama. And, he said 84 percent of U.S. soldiers wounded in Afghanistan were wounded under Obama.

On another issue, Gohmert noted the storming of the U.S. embassy in Egypt on Tuesday, and said the U.S. should take steps to defend its embassy if Egypt cannot.

"Under everybody's definition of international law, when you attack an embassy, you have attacked, you have committed an act of war against that country," he said. "And if the host country cannot protect the embassy, then that country who owns that embassy that uses that embassy, has every right to bring the full military power to bear to defend it.

"If they're not going to be able to defend our embassy, then we need to take action to defend it."

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