e-News 10/16/15

• Extending the Mission in Afghanistan
• “With 16 months left in office, here’s what Obama should do in Syria”
• Veto Threat Hangs Over Defense Bill
• “‘Inexperience’ is not to Blame for Waning U.S. Power and Influence”
• Salute: A World War II Honor

Extending the Mission in Afghanistan

President Barack Obama this week abandoned his plan to have almost all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by the end of his second term. Yesterday, the President announced a new plan to keep thousands of troops in the country at least through the end of his term in 2017.

There are currently 9,800 U.S. troops in the country, most of which were due to leave by the end of 2016, except for an embassy security force in Kabul. But that number will now remain constant before falling to about 5,500 troops in early 2017 under the new plan. The forces who remain will continue training and advising Afghan troops, while other specialized forces will focus on the counterterrorism fight against al Qaeda.

I have always said conditions on the ground in Afghanistan – not some arbitrary calendar - should determine the size and scope of our future operations.  The President has apparently decided to avoid his mistakes in Iraq where he withdrew forces prematurely, creating a huge power vacuum which was filled by murderous ISIS extremists.  The United States has made enormous sacrifices in Afghanistan to ensure that the security of our homeland is not threatened again by terrorists based there.  In order to protect the gains made by our men and women in uniform, our intelligence community and the fledgling Afghan security forces, this step is, unfortunately, necessary. It reflects the reality on the ground in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have made gains over the last year as Afghan forces have taken over the vast majority of the fighting.

But let’s be clear: a status quo plan for Afghanistan is not a recipe for success.  The President needs to pay attention to this threat and lay out a larger, overarching strategy to defeat our terrorist enemies and protect the people of the United States.   

I also recommend you read “With 16 months left in office, here’s what Obama should do in Syria” by David Ignatius in the Washington Post.

Veto Threat Hangs Over Defense Bill

Last week, Congress sent President Barack Obama a sweeping defense policy bill.  Despite the fact that the bill was approved by the Senate by a vote of 70 to 27 and passed the House by a vote of 269 to 151, the President continues to threaten to veto the legislation. If he does, it would be only the fifth time that has happened in the past half-century. The bipartisan measure has become law every year for more than 50 years.

The NDAA contains all the money for the Department of Defense that the President requested.  Similarly, the Defense Appropriations bill my Committee drafted this spring matches the President’s budget request and he continues to threaten to veto our bill as well.

I am calling on the President to sign the NDAA.  Especially in times like these, our troops, their families, our allies and partners need certainty and consistent leadership.

Among other things, this year's bill provides:

• a 1.3 percent pay increase to service members and a new retirement option for troops;
• authorization for lethal assistance to Ukraine forces fighting Russian-backed rebels;
• extends the ban on torture to the CIA;
• authorization for the president's request of $715 million to help Iraqi forces fight Islamic State militants.

For more information on the FY ’16 NDAA, click here.

“'Inexperience’ is not to Blame for Waning U.S. Power and Influence”

“Russia’s aggressive military campaign in Syria proves Vladimir Putin has out-maneuvered Barack Obama and if he is not stopped he will continue to upend the expressed will of the United States. Contrary to the 'Inside-the-Beltway' insistence that the President’s powerlessness, and therefore the collective humiliation of the American people, is wrought out of his inexperience as an executive, it is actually due to at least two underlying false premises on which the President has built his foreign policy…”

Read Rebecca Heinreichs’ entire article in Real Clear Defense here.

Salute:  A belated congratulations and thank you to World War II veteran Frank Bilbona, upon his receipt of the Bronze Star he earned in the European Theater.  Now a resident of the Paramus Veterans Home, SGT Bilbona served in Italy, England, Germany and Austria as a member of the Medical Battalion Detachment 30th Infantry 3rd Division.  I was proud to help his family fight through the Army bureaucracy in order to receive the award.  Read Jaimie Julia Winters’s story on NorthJersey.com here.