[R-G] US Lawmakers Caution Obama on Afghanistan

[Anthony Fenton]

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-03-17-voa52.cfm

US Lawmakers Caution Obama on Afghanistan
By Dan Robinson
Washington
17 March 2009

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is asking President Barack Obama to  
reconsider the deployment of 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan  
saying objectives of the U.S. military involvement remain unclear. The  
lawmakers explained their concerns, expressed in a letter to the  
president, at a news Capitol Hill news conference.

In their letter the 14 lawmakers assert that rather than helping build  
a stable Afghanistan capable of governing itself, what they describe  
as an escalation of the U.S. presence may actually harm U.S. security.

With the U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan sparked by the  
September 11, 2001 al-Qaida terrorist attacks on the U.S soon to enter  
its 8th year, they urge President Obama to proceed cautiously and  
allow a full debate.

Representative Walter Jones, a North Carolina Republican and one of  
the few Republican critics of former President George Bush's Iraq war  
policies, describes what he and others in the group feel needs to be  
discussed.

"To talk about this policy and how we can have success, instead of  
having a buildup of 51,000 to [potentially] 100,000 and then we have  
got the same problem that other great nations have had in Afghanistan.  
They're in a bad situation that they cannot get out of," he said.

"A message [to the president] that, look, re-think this. Give it  
another thought. Remember what happened to the British, the Russians  
and look what is happening to us right now. This [sending 17,000 new  
troops] is not a prudent step to take," said Dennis Kucinich, a Ohio  
Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential  
nomination in 2008.

In their letter to President Obama, the lawmakers voice concern that  
any perceived military success in Afghanistan might create pressure to  
increase military activity in Pakistan possibly leading to dangerous  
destabilization in the region.

Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Representative Ron Paul, an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican  
presidential nomination in 2008, says the hope is that the Obama  
administration will focus on non-military means to resolve the  
Afghanistan situation.

"Our effort here in writing this letter is just urging caution because  
we're hoping that with the new administration, [that] we will have an  
administration that will lend itself more to diplomacy and working  
through other means rather than always military confrontation," he said.

While President Obama approved the deployment of 17,000 additional  
U.S. troops to join the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)  
in Afghanistan, his administration is also nearing completion of a  
comprehensive strategic review of policy on Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Democrats and Republicans who signed the letter say a key goal is to  
encourage a thorough debate, before the U.S. potentially becomes mired  
in an even longer military commitment.

(from left) Representatives Walter Jones (R-NC), Dennis Kucinich (D- 
OH), Ed Whitfield
(from left) Representatives Walter Jones (R-NC), Dennis Kucinich (D- 
OH), Ed Whitfield
"I think it is important for the American people and all of us to have  
a genuine discussion debate as everyone has said about the strategy,  
the exist strategy with clarity and that is precisely what we're  
asking," said Ed Whitfield, a Kentucky Republican.

"During the debate on Iraq we always said it's keeping us from getting  
Afghanistan right," said Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts.   
"Well now we're starting to get out of Iraq, what does it mean to get  
Afghanistan right? I think some of us believe there is not a military  
solution to be had."
As for when this comprehensive debate about clear objectives in  
Afghanistan will take place, the lawmakers who made the appeal to the  
president point to the 2010 defense appropriations bill Congress will  
consider, and a new $75 billion war supplemental measure the White  
House will send to Congress.