Lawmakers still questioning Afghanistan drawdown
Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Afghan election crisis and unraveling of Iraq have lawmakers and regional allies thinking President Barack Obama should rethink his decision to withdraw virtually all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the close of 2016.
The White House says Afghanistan is a different situation from Iraq, which has been mired in sectarian violence since shortly after U.S. troops left, and the drawdown decision a done deal.
Some lawmakers, however, say they are uncomfortable with Obama’s plan, which responds to the American public’s war fatigue and his desire to be credited with getting the U.S. out of two conflicts. Ten senators, Republicans and Democrats, raised the drawdown issue at a congressional hearing Thursday.
They argued that it’s too risky to pull American troops out so quickly, especially with the Afghan presidential election in the balance. They don’t want to see Afghanistan go the way of Iraq, and they fear that the Afghan security force, while making substantial gains, won’t be ready for solo duty by the end of 2016.
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Read more: http://www.salon.com/2014/07/19/lawmakers_still_questioning_afghanistan_drawdown/
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Once again the Republicans step in it and Democrats are left to scrap off the shoe.
