Washington, D.C.--The following is a statement from Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) regarding the upcoming announcement by President Obama of a new strategy regarding Afghanistan:

“The President inherited this war, which has lingered on for eight years, cost hundreds of precious American lives, and where inattention from the previous administration has led to a resurgence of the Taliban. President Obama stated throughout his campaign last year that Afghanistan was ‘the real central front in the war on terror.’ This is where the attacks of 9-11 were hatched and where terrorists were given free reign to train in order to attack America and its citizens. We must not forget that this was why we went there in the first place.

“The President was elected in part because of his position on this war and I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now. However, I will not stand for another Iraq. The strategies of the past were clearly not the answer; perhaps his strategy will turn the tide of this war. However, I will not support an open-ended war. It cannot be where the generals ask for more and more troops and their demands are automatically ratified. This is what happened in Vietnam. I am old enough to remember that war and I hope our nation is wise enough not to repeat those mistakes.

“There must be a clear mission and goal outlined by the administration to go along with any troop deployments. We must also see a far greater commitment from our NATO allies in bringing order to Afghanistan and peace to its people. Stopping terrorism is not just an American goal; it is something that the rest of the world has endured for far too long as well.

“We must ensure that the mission is sound and the plan is clear before we send more of our sons and daughters in to harms way and commit more of our nation’s dollars towards achieving those goals.”