Sens. Paul, Merkley and Brown send letter to President Obama: ‘It is time to bring our troops home’ from Afghanistan
“Mr. President, our valiant men and women have fought bravely in Afghanistan for over a decade. But after twelve years of conflict, it is time to bring our troops home.”
Rand Paul at CPAC 2013
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This statement was made by three prominent US Senators from both sides of the aisle in a letter to President Obama yesterday, who both applaud the President’s decision for a drawdown in Afghanistan, but also asks the President to do it swiftly and leave only what personnel is required to pursue a limited counter-terrorism mission in the country.
The letter from Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) urge Obama to stay true to the words of his inaugural address where he said, “We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.”
Dear Mr. President:
We are writing to express our support for your decision to begin a swift and orderly end to U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan.
In your recent State of the Union address, you announced that 34,000 of our service members will come home in the next year. We applaud you for this decision. Your announcement is consistent with Section 1226 of the National Defense Authorization Act, which endorses a transition of the security lead to the Government of Afghanistan by mid-summer 2013, while drawing down U.S. troops consistent with this goal. It also states that the United States should end all regular combat operations by not later than December 31, 2014, and take all possible steps to end such operations at the earliest date consistent with a safe and orderly draw down of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
In the next few months, you and senior military leaders will make additional crucial decisions about the final phase of the conflict. These decisions include the pace of the drawdown during 2014, as well as the number of troops that will remain after December 31, 2014.
Read the rest of the letter at the Huffington Post
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