On Thursday, the House failed to pass a bi-partisan amendment that would have required President Obama to submit a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops to end the war in Afghanistan. The amendment failed by just 12 votes, gaining approval from 26 Republicans.
But some Republicans were not pleased with the vote, reports thinkprogress.org.
Tea Party firebrand Rep. Allen West (R-FL) — a retired Army officer who was discharged after shooting at an unarmed detainee in Iraq — denounced the amendment, telling the Miami Herald that his anti-war colleagues should “get shot” to understand the true threat of the Taliban:
“Is the Taliban still fighting? I spent 2.5 years in Afghanistan. Just because you kill Osama bin Laden does not mean that the Taliban has stopped fighting,” he said. “Now can we fight a little smarter? Absolutely.”
Asked about efforts to curb U.S. involvement, West said, “I would take these gentlemen over and let them get shot at a few times and maybe they’d have a different opinion.”
