afghanistan. two air bases that would be beneficial to the afghan security forces, only if the afghans want it as a way to make sure this country never goes back into the hands of the taliban. that would be a good way to end the afghan conflict. you know, senator, i hear what you re saying and i m actually startled by it. my recollection is this war was al qaeda and terrorism, not about nation building in afghanistan. you re now suggesting a permanent imperpetuity presence in afghanistan, the most corrupt country, a president who takes bags of cash from iran. what are we doing? al qaeda is in pakistan, somalia, yemen. why are we going to be sending american troops to die, to prop up a corrupt karzai who s been antithetical to what we believe in? well, my belief is that we re in afghanistan to protect national security interests of this nation. if you replace karzai, who do you replace him with?