Senator Michael Bennet Talks Security

Just one week after combat operations officially ended in Iraq, Sen. Michael Bennet made a stop in Colorado Springs to talk about national security.

It?s the 24th time the senator has been to El Paso County in the 20 months since he took office. Tuesday he talked to a group who has served in the armed services, outlining the scope of challenges America faces.

?We?re close to the anniversary of 9/11. “(In) Colorado, there’s a lot of cheap talk out there about, you know, how government is the worst thing in the world, that we shouldn’t fund anything,? said Bennet. ?I think it?s important to remind people that generations of Americans, including the ones that are fighting right now in Afghanistan, have had a different view of that.?

Bennet said he believes America has an obligation, from one generation to the next, to provide opportunity for its citizens.

?Colorado is the home to an enormous number of active military personnel and a huge number of veterans, and our commitment to both those groups of people needs to be completely rock solid,? Bennet said.

Some think they would like to see America help create a democracy in Afghanistan, in order to provide the country with some stability. Bennet has a different view.

?I just think that?s much too much of a tall order, much too big an ambition for what we?re supposed to be doing there. And I don?t think the people of our state are interested in nation building in Afghanistan.?

Former Colorado senator Gary Hart was scheduled to appear at Tuesday’s event. However, he had a last minute family emergency and could not attend.