Rep. Lynn Woolseyissued the following statement in response to the President’s address to the nation on Afghanistan:

“Tonight’s announcement is a profound disappointment.  The hope was that the President would offer an Afghanistan troop drawdown that is significant, swift and sizeable.  His proposal fails on all three counts.

“This was a moment for bold decision-making to bring our Afghanistan policy in line with the sentiment of the American people, while recognizing the deep toll this war has taken on our global credibility and our national security.

“Instead, the choice is to largely stay the course.  Instead, the choice is to perpetuate a war that is bankrupting us morally and fiscally.

“The American people have been enormously patient.  They have endured a lot of sacrifice.  But after nearly a decade of war, they are weary of losing their bravest men and women and their hard-earned tax dollars to a policy that simply has not achieved its goals. 

“More than 1,600 lives lost is too much.  $10 billion a month in war spending is too much.  It is long past time that we bring our troops – all of our troops – safely home.”