House Democrats Want New Afghanistan Policy

By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service

Though a $59 supplemental bill that funds continued military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan passed earlier this week, 102 Democrats voted against it. Several of them expressed their dissatisfaction with continued U.S. military presence in Afghanistan on Thursday.

“Osama Bin Laden remains at large, the terrorist threat is alive and well, [and] Afghanistan remains in the grips of crushing poverty,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif). “This is now the longest war in our nation’s history, and the longer we stay, the worse it gets.”

Dr. Robert A. Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago and expert on terrorism and insurgency, offered a 3-year plan to end U.S. occupation in the country. The first year of the plan involves empowering local Afghan groups for self-protection while decreasing troops on the ground. In the second year, the plan places the position of forces in the North and West regions before finally withdrawing troops in the third year.

“This is the policy we should be pursuing in Afghanistan,” he said.

Rep. Michael Honda (D-Calif.) pointed out that the U.S. spent 103 months in Vietnam, and the U.S. is currently in its 105th month of military aggression in Afghanistan.

Woolsey used public dissatisfaction with the war to urge a change in strategy.

“The American people are running out of patience, and with 114 members of the House voting…against the war…Congress is beginning to catch up to the public,” she said. 

“It is time to try something new.”