Our nation’s armed services have been stretched thin by being asked to fight two wars simultaneously. Our service members have been asked to repeatedly return to the battlefield; some have served as many as four separate deployments. They have also been subjected to stop loss orders that keep them on the battlefield beyond their original commitment. They have honorably served our nation while making major sacrifices.

Past Bush Administration policies strained our military to the breaking point, and we have an obligation to restore it.

The war in Afghanistan has entered its ninth year without clearly defined objectives or an exit strategy. DeFazio has been a long-time critic of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He strongly opposed the launch of the Iraq war and vehemently opposed the escalation of the Afghanistan war.

Bring Our Troops Home

United States troops have been deployed in Iraq since March 2003. Most Americans agree that the time has long since passed for our fighting men and women to come home from Iraq. American’s interests are not served by a prolonged, open-ended commitment to maintaining forces in Iraq. The current challenges in Iraq make this the perfect time for the United States to prove to Iraqis we are willing to let them stand for themselves. We must remain firm in meeting our goal of allowing the Iraqi people to be independent and self -sufficient.

President Obama made a commitment to significantly lower the number of troops in Iraq. We are now down to 50,000 troops to advise and perform counterterrorism operations with Iraqis. DeFazio joined three dozen other Members on a letter reminding the President that the U.S and Iraq have signed agreement to remove all U.S. troops by the end of 2011.

Much like President Obama’s exit strategy in Iraq, we need a clear exit strategy for Afghanistan. Neither the Soviets nor the British could resolve the intra-tribal and inter-tribal conflicts that have plagued Afghanistan for the past 600 years.

The Afghanistan war has drawn the U.S. into a black hole, not much different than Vietnam, where we propped up a corrupt government that had no relationship to the rest of the country. After nine years of war and the loss of more than 1,000 American soldiers, there is little confidence that the Karzi government will ever be able to stand on its own.

DeFazio vigorously opposed President Obama’s shortsighted plan to escalate the war in Afghanistan with a 30,000 troop surge. With a deteriorating security situation, a corrupt Afghani government, and no comprehensive political outcome yet in sight, the war in Afghanistan is unlikely to find a peaceful resolution.

DeFazio voted for the Obey/McGovern amendment that requires the President to draft a plan by April 2011 on the safe, orderly and expeditious redeployment of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, including a timeframe for completion.

A New Strategy

There is no meaningful government outside of Kabul, the Afghani security forces are in disarray, and there is unbelievable corruption throughout the Karzi government, police, and security forces.

Congressman DeFazio is pressuring the President to reconsider his policy in Afghanistan and move toward a much less expensive, much less troop intensive strategy that could bring about a much better result in Afghanistan.

The U.S. can mitigate outside terrorist networks with a smaller troop presence and should let the Afghans work out their tribal and intra-tribal conflicts that they’ve been unable to resolve for 600 years.

Press Releases

• 06.24.10 DEFAZIO URGES NEW POLICY IN AFGHANISTAN
• 12.11.09 DEFAZIO RECIEVES AWARD FOR SERVICE ON THE AIR FORCE ACADEMY BOARD OF VISITORS
• 10.21.09 DEFAZIO ANNOUNCES SPECIAL PAYMENTS TO SERVICE MEMBERS WHO SERVED UNDER STOP LOSS
• 05.22.08 DEFAZIO STANDS UP FOR THE TRUTH: HOUSE PASSES DOD AUTHORIZATION WITH TWO DEFAZIO AMENDMENDTS

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