Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tom Udall (D-NM) and Mike Lee (R-UT) announced more than a week ago that they would send a letter to the White House urging President Obama to stick with his schedule for starting to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in July and to make that withdrawal a sizable one. When they sent the letter today, 24 more Senators had signed it.
The letter does not call for immediate withdrawal or seek an overall change in policy. But it runs counter to views of those within the administration who have reportedly have sought a slow drawdown combined with an extended, perhaps decades-long stay in Afghanistan for some unknown number of U.S troops.
You can see the full text of the letter here. An excerpt:
Instead of continuing to be embroiled in ancient local and regional conflicts in Afghanistan, we must accelerate the transfer of responsibility for Afghanistan's development to the Afghan people and their government. We should maintain our capacity to eliminate any new terrorist threats, continue to train the Afghan National Security Forces, and maintain our diplomatic and humanitarian efforts. However, these objectives do not require the presence of over 100,000 American troops engaged in intensive combat operations.
Mr. President, according to our own intelligence officials, al Qaeda no longer has a large presence in Afghanistan, and, as the strike against bin Laden demonstrated, we have the capacity to confront our terrorist enemies with a dramatically smaller footprint. The costs of prolonging the war far outweigh the benefits. It is time for the United States to shift course in Afghanistan.
We urge you to follow through on the pledge you made to the American people to begin the redeployment of U.S. forces from Afghanistan this summer, and to do so in a manner that is sizable and sustained, and includes combat troops as well as logistical and support forces.
Along with Merkley, Lee and Udall, the following senators have signed on to the letter: Max Baucus (D-MT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Patty Murray (D-WA), Rand Paul (R-KY), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The signatories represent the full left-right spectrum within the Democratic Party and, with the two Republicans on-board, are indicative of widespread support for a speedy drawdown of troops from Afghanistan. If a majority of Senators ultimately took that position, it would be the first time in the past three years that their views will have meshed with the those of the majority of Americans on Afghanistan.