Rep. Jones hopes movie will sway Congress on Afghanistan

As the theater lights dimmed, no one snacked on soda or popcorn in the House Capitol Visitor’s Center. Congressman Walter Jones (R-N.C.) wants the public and fellow lawmakers to chew on whether to vote U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.

He hosted the screening of Netflix’s War Machine Tuesday night, a satirical film about the war. He hoped laughs might lead to a weightier conclusion.

“We are wasting life and money,” Jones said.

The Afghanistan conflict has killed 2,300 American service-members, wounded 20,000 more, and cost U.S. taxpayers more than a trillion dollars.

“There’s nothing we’re going to win there,” he said, “why are we still there? nothing has changed.”

Jones voted for sending troops into Afghanistan after Osama Bin-Laden masterminded the 9-11 attacks. He said that made sense, but regrets that the White House used that permission to justify deploying U.S. men and women to Iraq and other terror hot spots.

Jones concedes his House colleagues may not agree with his call to leave Afghanistan, but after 16 years, he thinks Congress should vote again, whether to stay or go. “It’s our constitutional duty to have a debate that’s all we’re asking for is a debate,” he said.

That’s a view largely-shared by those in attendance, from past presidential candidates like Ralph Nader and Dennis Kucinich to everyday citizens.

“Something has got to be done about this war in Afghanistan,” said Northern Virginia resident Angela Vullo. Her friend Sandra Klassen agreed, “we don’t have a foreign policy, we have a war policy.”

Jones has a bill to pull troops out of Afghanistan, but he has little Republican support and may never be debated.