When the President of the United States pursues policies contrary not only to the will of the people, but also, to the will of his own party, it’s up to his own party to challenge him on the issue. Sadly, we have seen that far too seldom from Democrats, until now.
Members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) gave President Obama a rare push on Saturday, adopting a resolution attempting to encourage the administration to move toward a speedier withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The DNC is currently holding its annual winter meeting, where its hundreds of members from all around the country converge in Washington, D.C. to discuss finances, debate resolutions, and of course, figure out how elect (and re-elect) Democrats — including Obama — in 2012.
The resolution adopted Saturday states that "the Democratic Party supports prioritizing job creation and a swift withdrawal of U.S. armed forces and military contractors in Afghanistan which must include a significant and sizable reduction no later than July 2011."
The resolution cites the length of the war (nearly ten years), the cost (more than $100 billion per year), the lack of public support (72 percent want to "speed up the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan") and the argument that the conflict does not require a military solution.
"The passage of my resolution places the Democratic Party squarely on the side of American people who overwhelmingly support a swift withdrawal from Afghanistan, beginning with a significant and sizeable reduction in U.S. troop levels by no later than July of this year," said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who submitted the resolution. Other submitters were DNC Vice Chairs Donna Brazile and Rep. Mike Honda (D-Hawaii) and DNC Secretary Alice Germond.
The Obama administration’s policy is to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan in July 2011 and fully transfer security responsibilities over to Afghan forces by 2014. The pace of withdrawal is yet to be determined.
As Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last year, "We clearly understand that in July of 2011, we begin to draw down our forces. The pace with which we draw down and how many we draw down is going to be conditions-based."The DNC resolution pushes the administration to see to "a significant and sizable reduction" in July, or even sooner — a prospect the administration has not endorsed… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Huffington Post>
It’s long past time for Obama to get in step with the Democratic Party and the people of America and bring to an end this pointless war. It costs too many priceless lives. I costs too much money. It hurts national security, because we lack sufficient force to respond to a real crisis, because Bush/Republican Wars have decimated and overextended our military.
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