Members of Congress Call for Significant and Sizeable Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Today, Representative Barbara Lee led a bipartisan group of 80 Members of Congress in sending a letter to President Obama calling for a significant and sizeable reduction in U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan beginning no later than July of this year.

Below is a statement from Representative Lee:

Our service men and women have performed with incredible courage and commitment in Afghanistan. But they have been put in an impossible situation where there is no military solution.

Twice, President Obama has doubled down on a counterproductive military-first strategy in Afghanistan based upon the perpetual recommendation of the Pentagon for more troops, more time, and more resources. This letter sends a clear signal to the President that the redeployment of a minimal number of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in July will not meet the expectations of Congress or the American people, and further that we will strongly support a shift toward ending this war and bringing all of our troops home.

The American people overwhelmingly favor action to speed up U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. It is time to end this war and to refocus our efforts on job creation and strengthening our economy.”

Representative Lee introduced "The Responsible End to the War in Afghanistan Act" last month, legislation that would limit funding in Afghanistan for the safe and orderly withdrawal of U.S. troops and military contractors. A bipartisan group of 56 Representatives have joined Congresswoman Lee in supporting that legislation.

See the text of the letter and the list of co-signers on Rep. Lee's website.