Don't Give Up on Our Troops in Afghanistan

Statement

In light of what the Washington Post called the "unauthorized release of more than 91,000 secret documents about the war in Afghanistan," some Democrats are raising questions about the mission there. In fact today, the House will vote on whether or not to fund our troops in the field, as well as a resolution sponsored by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) that would hamstring the President's ability to prosecute the war on terror with our Pakistani allies.

Now is not the time to back away from our mission in Afghanistan -- a mission which the President has committed more than 50,000 new troops since he was inaugurated. For the past six months, House Republicans have called for the swift passage of a "clean" troop funding bill, one that our civilian and military leaders say is urgently needed.

But many Democrats have been hostile to the President's new strategy in Afghanistan. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), was quoted in today's Boston Globe stating that "[w]e need to rethink this strategy and it must include an exit strategy. There's no end!" and Rep. David Obey (D-WI), the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, indicated that he'll oppose the troop funding measure, even though he is bringing it to the floor.

House Republicans, on the other hand, have supported President Obama's decision to implement a new strategy in Afghanistan. Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) said in a statement today:

For nine years, we have asked our troops to leave their families and risk their lives to advance freedom abroad and protect our security at home. They have met every challenge presented to them, and continue pushing themselves every day to carry out a long, difficult, and dangerous mission.

Denying terrorists a safe haven in Iraq and Afghanistan is critical to the safety and security of our country. As our troops continue their fight, it is imperative that Congress continue to provide the resources they need and support their mission.

Unfortunately, to date the President has spent little time making the case for the country's engagement in the region, as the Washington Post reported today: "Obama has not delivered a major address on the Afghan war since his December speech announcing the new strategy." Meanwhile Democrats in Congress have struggled to fund deployed troops and civilian personnel, spending more than six months delaying a critical troop funding measure in a futile effort to lard it up with more "stimulus" spending.

Failure to give our troops the tools they need to succeed would be catastrophic, not just for the United States, but for the Afghans as well, as Bret Stephens noted in the Wall Street Journal:

[S]omewhere in the bowels of the State Department, somebody might want to think hard about the human consequences of American withdrawal. What happens to the Afghan women who removed their burqas in the late fall of 2001, or the girls who enrolled in government schools? What happens to the army officers and civil servants who cooperated with the coalition? What happens to the villagers who stood with us when we asked them to?

We have a duty to stand and fight against those who seek to destroy America and the freedom that defines us. Our troops are committed to fighting and winning this global war. We owe them our unfailing support.

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