Merkley Supports President Biden's Withdrawal of American Troops from Afghanistan

Press Release

Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement today, following President Biden's announcement that all American troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021:

"I strongly support President Biden's decision to work in concert with our NATO allies to bring our troops home from Afghanistan. After two decades of this seemingly endless war that has exhausted the American people and claimed the lives of nearly 2,400 American service members, it is time to allow the people of Afghanistan--not U.S. military forces and American tax dollars--to determine the future of their country.

"The military mission in Afghanistan was conceived to ensure that Afghan soil was not used to launch an attack on America or our partners. But while that goal was important, the mission morphed into two decades of a state-building effort that was beyond reach for any foreign power. Now the people of Afghanistan will have the opportunity to chart their own future. We should help and support, but the future rests in the hands of the people of Afghanistan."

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