Edwards release

Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards: Military Force Not Key to Success in Afghanistan
12/01/09

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards (D-MD) released the following statement after President Obama’s speech on Afghanistan. The President announced that he will send an additional 30,000 U.S. service members to Afghanistan, and intends to begin the military withdrawal by July 2011, with no end date identified.

“The decisions regarding the United States’ role in Afghanistan by President Obama and this Congress will impact significantly both countries, and the world, for years to come. While I appreciate President Obama’s careful deliberations and efforts to improve the situation in Afghanistan – a mess he inherited from the previous administration – I remain concerned that the President has left an open-ended commitment and not outlined a mission that can be met primarily with a surge of military force that is the core of the strategy. The question remains as to the future capacity of Afghanistan’s military and government to do what is required of them to build their country. We have little evidence, if any, that this outcome is likely given the levels of corruption in the Karzai government and the continued inter-tribal violence. I will continue to work with my Congressional colleagues and the President to address these concerns and others to meet the United States’ national security interests and domestic challenges we face.”

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