April, 14 2010, 11:37am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Feingold, McGovern, Jones Introduce Legislation to Require Timetable for Deploying US Troops From Afghanistan
Open-Ended Military Presence in Afghanistan is Counterproductive to our National Security Goals
WASHINGTON
Today, U.S. Senator
Russ Feingold (D-WI) and U.S.
Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Walter Jones
(R-NC) announced
they are introducing legislation requiring the president to develop a
flexible
timetable to draw down U.S. troops from Afghanistan, in order to enhance
our
national security and reduce the burden on our armed forces and on
taxpayers.
The bipartisan, bicameral legislation would require the president to
provide a
plan for drawing down our forces in Afghanistan. The legislation also
increases oversight by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan
Reconstruction (SIGAR) over work done by private contractors with
records of
waste, fraud and abuse in order to safeguard U.S. taxpayer dollars.
"At
the listening sessions I have held throughout Wisconsin over the last
several
months, people across the political spectrum have asked why we continue
to have
a massive military presence in Afghanistan," said Senator Feingold.
"A
large, open-ended presence in Afghanistan is counterproductive to our
global fight against al Qaeda. Rather than pour resources into a
nation-building strategy in a country that isn't even al Qaeda's
base, we should develop a timetable to end our massive presence in
Afghanistan,
so we are better able to go after al Qaeda's global network. We
need to be as agile as al Qaeda and we can't do that if we are bogged
down in Afghanistan."
"After
8 long years, hundreds of billions of dollars and - most importantly
- thousands of our brave soldiers killed or wounded, it is past time to
re-examine this strategy. Instead of nation-building in Afghanistan, I
believe we should be doing some more nation-building here at home. The
American people deserve accountability - in terms of how and when our
troops will be returned to their families and in terms of how taxpayer
dollars
are being spent," said Representative McGovern.
"I
believe the war on terror needs to be thought of in a different way. I
believe there are other strategies that could be used, as I have
discussed with
several former generals. As recent as yesterday I visited Walter Reed
Army Medical Center and the Bethesda Naval Academy. Being there and
seeing the true cost of war only strengthens my belief that it is time
to
change our strategy and reduce the number of troops in Afghanistan. It
is
time to put an end to the tremendous stress we are placing on our
military and
their families," said Representative Jones.
Feingold,
McGovern and Jones recently wrote
to President
Obama outlining their concerns that the military strategy for
Afghanistan is
"not in our best national security interest and makes us dependent upon
an unreliable partner in the Afghan government." In the letter
urging the president to set forth a timetable, the legislators wrote,
"The attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day serves as a reminder
that we have not been adequately prioritizing the need to track down al
Qaeda,
especially in emerging safe havens such as Yemen. Rather than investing
a
disproportionate amount of our resources in Afghanistan, we need to
shift
resources to pursuing al Qaeda's global network."
The
legislation:
-
Would require the
president to provide a plan and timetable for drawing down our forces in
Afghanistan and identify any variables that could require changes to
that
timetable.
-
Would safeguard
U.S. taxpayer dollars by ensuring all U.S. activity in Afghanistan be
overseen
by an Inspector General.
-
Does not set a
specific date for withdrawal.
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