Got a Minute? Congressman McGovern and 80% of Afghans Need You

Just now, the House of Representatives finished debate on Congressman McGovern's amendment to the Defense Authorization bill calling for an exit strategy for the war in Afghanistan. With voting on all amendments scheduled for later today, Congressman McGovern and the 80% of Afghans who oppose an escalation of foreign troops in their country need your help. Call your Member of Congress at [phone] and ask them to support the McGovern/Jones/Lee/Pingree amendment to the Defense Authorization bill, H.R. 2647.

There is no doubt that opponents of Congressman Jim McGovern's (D-MA) amendment to the House Defense bill are taking his call for a military exit strategy for U.S. troops from Afghanistan quite seriously. They brought out their big guns from both sides of the political aisle just now on the House floor to try and defeat it.

The arguments of the Chairmen and ranking members of both the House Armed Services Committee and Foreign Affairs Committees were almost verbatim what the venerable old Hall of the House had heard time and time again when it came to the question of exiting Iraq and Vietnam. This morning, however, Congressman McGovern was able to quote the president of the United States as a supporter of what the amendment called for - a military exit strategy from Afghanistan. The president told a national television audience on the news program 60 Minutes that the war in Afghanistan, indeed, needed such a strategy.

The question, of course, is why the administration and the leadership of both sides of the political aisle are so set against an amendment that does what the president himself has said is required in that war torn country. Why are they investing time, energy and political capital to defeat it? Why have Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Holbrook been meeting and phoning Members of Congress to express their opposition?

I think it might be because Congressman McGovern is right. On the merits, this amendment should pass. As Congressman McGovern told those colleagues of his who happen to have been paying attention to the debate just now, there is no military solution in Afghanistan, only a political one. Our troops deserve to know what their military mission is and what is being envisioned for the end of their mission. Those with responsibility for public policy decisions in Afghanistan have got to be willing and able to negotiate the political compromises that will be necessary to end this war. Those who have a responsibility for our soldiers need to be able and willing to tell them what the beginning, middle and end of their military mission is.

It turns out that 80% of the people of Afghanistan are opposed to an escalation of foreign troops in their country. At the very least, those with the most at stake - the people of Afghanistan and the troops that we continue to send there - deserve to know what Congressman McGovern is insisting the Pentagon tell them - what our exit plan is.

The House will vote on the McGovern amendment this afternoon. The odds of it prevailing over the objections of the Pentagon and both Democratic and Republican leadership are long. Now is the time for all of us to let our Representatives know that they should support this amendment. I hope you'll call [phone] and urge her/him to support the McGovern/Jones/Lee/Pingree this afternoon.

Comments

[hiker61]

An exit strategy must be developed before we continue to expand and entrench our involvement any further. Our NATO partners continue to exhibit wavering commitment and the scope and costs of operations in Afghanistan continue to spiral upward. All of this while our footholds and objectives in Iraq may slide backwards. Our recent increase in troop strength costs $1 billion per 10,000 troops. The Pentagon bean counters realize and are planning for a draw down in numbers within several years as this increase is unsustainable, yet many acknowledge that operations as envisioned could last ten or more years without any certain expectation of meeting lasting objectives. Another factor which seems to be fading from public awareness is that the Reserve and National Guard components nationwide are seeing increasing call ups in greater numbers, a great number which are billed the largest since WWII exceeding prior mobilizations for Iraq. It's ironic that just a few years ago such events garnered concern and now seem to slide below the radar. The recent surge in positive recruitment numbers relieves some of the stress, but a large part of it is directly related to the poor economy. Washington had better focus on a reality check now as the route we are heading in will become too costly and unmanageable.