Times-Call.com - Lawmakers React to Obama's Afghanistan Pullout Plan

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U.S. Sen. Mark Udall said Tuesday night that he wished President Barack Obama had been even more aggressive with a schedule for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.

"I think we could safely withdraw 15,000 troops this year," said Eldorado Springs Democrat Udall, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence.

Udall said during a telephone news conference that Coloradans' patience with the war in Afghanistan "is wearing thin. My patience is wearing thin."

The situation in Afghanistan "is difficult, to say the least, but our situation here at home is difficult as well," Udall told reporters, stressing the need to address issues like the soaring national debt.

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, also indicated impatience with the speed of the withdrawal.

"I strongly believe that we should remove U.S. forces as quickly and responsibly as possible," Polis said in a statement after Obama's speech.

The war "has cost far too many lives and American taxpayers are footing the bill for it to the tune of billions of dollars every week. We should be relaying on a more effective, smart counterterrorism strategy that doesn't involve tens of thousands of American troops and billions of taxpayer dollars," Polis said. "It is time to bring the war in Afghanistan to an end."

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet said in his own statement that "I have consistently stated that the president must uphold his commitment and begin the process of bringing our troops in Afghanistan home.

"Tonight's announcement is an encouraging sign that he plans to follow through on that commitment by withdrawing combat troops and support forces from the country in a manner that is sizable, sustained and responsible," said Bennet, D-Denver.

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