Barbara Lee, Members Question President on Open-Ended Afghan Policy
For Immediate Release
June 29, 2010
Contact: Nicole Y. Williams
202-225-2661
In Advance Of Supplemental Vote Members of Congress Send Letter to President Calling for Clear Exit Strategy in Afghanistan
Washington, D.C. - After numerous conflicting statements by members of his Administration and the military command, today Congresswoman Barbara Lee along with a number of her House colleagues sent President Obama a letter asking that he provide Congress with “a clear commitment and plan to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan” before the vote on the Supplemental funding bill.
“It has been nearly a decade since we went to Afghanistan and we still are not sure why we are there or can define a successful mission,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “This war is now the longest war in American history. We simply cannot continue to fund a war that seemingly has no end in sight. It’s past time we have a clear exit strategy and timeline for redeployment of our troops.”
The letter, which follows the change in command in Afghanistan, states, “The lack of clarity on when and how the US will end its military commitment to Afghanistan has created confusion amongst U.S. service members and the public. The controversial article in Rolling Stone Magazine that led you to accept the resignation of General McChrystal, for example, also reports that a senior military official stationed in Afghanistan believes that military success could actually lead to an escalation of forces, not a withdrawal: ‘There’s a possibility we could ask for another surge of U.S. forces next summer if we see success here.’
The letter continues, “This view reflects the ambiguous and tentative positions that Secretary Gates and General Petraeus continue to articulate about a date certain for the withdrawal of US forces. On the ABC news program “This Week”, Secretary Gates said: “We will have 100,000 troops there and they are not leaving in July of 2011. Some handful, or some small number, or whatever conditions permit, will begin to withdraw at that time.” General Petraeus is described in today’s Washington Post as “a commander who may become a formidable advocate for slowing, or arresting outright, the pace of troop reductions next summer.”
The Members want the President to submit to Congress not only a date to begin the withdrawal of US troops but also “a date for its completion and a strategy to achieve it.”
(Full text of the letter below)
June 24, 2010
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
White House
Washington DC
Dear Mr. President,
We fully agree with your admonition that a “unity of effort” is necessary to pursue US policy in Afghanistan. We support your decisive action in accepting the resignation of General Stanley McChrystal to advance this goal. But, we believe that achieving unity of effort also requires a clear commitment, time-frame and plan for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.
The lack of clarity on when and how the US will end its military commitment to Afghanistan has created confusion amongst U.S. service members and the public. The controversial article in Rolling Stone Magazine that led you to accept the resignation of General McChrystal, for example, also reports that a senior military official stationed in Afghanistan believes that military success could actually lead to an escalation of forces, not a withdrawal: “There’s a possibility we could ask for another surge of U.S. forces next summer if we see success here.”
This view reflects the ambiguous and tentative positions that Secretary Gates and General Petraeus continue to articulate about a date certain for the withdrawal of US forces. On the ABC news program “This Week”, Secretary Gates said: “We will have 100,000 troops there and they are not leaving in July of 2011. Some handful, or some small number, or whatever conditions permit, will begin to withdraw at that time.” General Petraeus is described in today’s Washington Post as “a commander who may become a formidable advocate for slowing, or arresting outright, the pace of troop reductions next summer.”
Mr. President, we believe that it is imperative for you to provide Congress and the American people with a clear commitment and plan to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan. This should include not only a date certain for the initiation of this withdrawal but a date for its completion and a strategy to achieve it. We believe that clarity on this vital point is a prerequisite for the unity of effort that you rightly seek in the implementation of your Afghanistan policy and for Congress to responsibly consider further funding requests for the war.
Sincerely,
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