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Members of Massachusetts' congressional delegation pushed back this week against President Donald Trump's announced plan to keep American troops in Afghanistan based on "conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables."
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, raised concerns about the lack of details surrounding the new Afghanistan strategy, which Trump unveiled during a prime-time address at Fort Meyer in Arlington, Virginia Monday.
They further called on the president to announce his strategy for the United States' military exit from the region.
Trump: US can't afford quick Afghanistan withdrawal, must continue the fight
"Conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables, will guide our strategy from now on," Trump said.
Neal questioned what he called the president's "intention to put more American boots on the ground with no clearly defined mission," noting that the U.S. military has spent nearly $5 trillion to pay for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and that more than 2,400 military service members have been killed as part of those conflicts.
Acknowledging the threats posed by groups like the Taliban, so-called Islamic State and Al Qaeda, the congressman agreed that the United States must "remain vigilant in the global war on terror."
Neal, however, argued that "at some point the Afghan security forces and police need to take control of their own future."
"The American people do not want to see our brave soldiers deployed indefinitely without an exit strategy," he said in a statement.
Markey also contended that U.S. military service members "deserve to know that the president has a real plan to end this conflict before we send more American soldiers back into a quagmire."
Arguing that the president's announcement left critical questions unanswered, the Massachusetts Democrat sought details on how many troops would be sent back to Afghanistan, the risks those individuals would face and how their efforts would help bring the war between the Taliban and Afghan government to an end.
Markey added that he "(opposes) the resumption of a U.S.-led ground combat against insurgents fighting the Afghan government."
"The war between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents cannot be won by military force; it will end only through political agreement," he said in a statement. "The president's speech lacked essential detail about how the State Department will pursue such a diplomatic strategy, especially at a time when he is slashing the level of diplomatic staff who do this work."
According to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the new strategy for the United States' approach to South Asia will require diplomatically engaging Pakistan, Afghanistan and India in an effort to create stability in the region.
He added that it breaks from previous approaches that set calendar-based deadlines and makes clear that the Taliban "will not win on the battlefield," but has a path to peace through a negotiated political settlement to the war.
"We stand ready to support peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban without preconditions," he said in a statement. "We look to the international community, particularly Afghanistan's neighbors, to join us in supporting an Afghan peace process."
U.S. officials said they expect the president to follow a Pentagon recommendation to send nearly 4,000 new troops to Afghanistan to bolster the 8,400 currently in the country, the Associated Press reported Monday.
The U.S. had about 100,000 there at its peak under the Obama administration in 2010 to 2011, according to AP.
http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/08/us_rep_richard_neal_sen_ed_mar.html
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, raised concerns about the lack of details surrounding the new Afghanistan strategy, which Trump unveiled during a prime-time address at Fort Meyer in Arlington, Virginia Monday.
They further called on the president to announce his strategy for the United States' military exit from the region.
Trump: US can't afford quick Afghanistan withdrawal, must continue the fight
"Conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables, will guide our strategy from now on," Trump said.
Neal questioned what he called the president's "intention to put more American boots on the ground with no clearly defined mission," noting that the U.S. military has spent nearly $5 trillion to pay for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and that more than 2,400 military service members have been killed as part of those conflicts.
Acknowledging the threats posed by groups like the Taliban, so-called Islamic State and Al Qaeda, the congressman agreed that the United States must "remain vigilant in the global war on terror."
Neal, however, argued that "at some point the Afghan security forces and police need to take control of their own future."
"The American people do not want to see our brave soldiers deployed indefinitely without an exit strategy," he said in a statement.
Markey also contended that U.S. military service members "deserve to know that the president has a real plan to end this conflict before we send more American soldiers back into a quagmire."
Arguing that the president's announcement left critical questions unanswered, the Massachusetts Democrat sought details on how many troops would be sent back to Afghanistan, the risks those individuals would face and how their efforts would help bring the war between the Taliban and Afghan government to an end.
Markey added that he "(opposes) the resumption of a U.S.-led ground combat against insurgents fighting the Afghan government."
"The war between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents cannot be won by military force; it will end only through political agreement," he said in a statement. "The president's speech lacked essential detail about how the State Department will pursue such a diplomatic strategy, especially at a time when he is slashing the level of diplomatic staff who do this work."
According to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the new strategy for the United States' approach to South Asia will require diplomatically engaging Pakistan, Afghanistan and India in an effort to create stability in the region.
He added that it breaks from previous approaches that set calendar-based deadlines and makes clear that the Taliban "will not win on the battlefield," but has a path to peace through a negotiated political settlement to the war.
"We stand ready to support peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban without preconditions," he said in a statement. "We look to the international community, particularly Afghanistan's neighbors, to join us in supporting an Afghan peace process."
U.S. officials said they expect the president to follow a Pentagon recommendation to send nearly 4,000 new troops to Afghanistan to bolster the 8,400 currently in the country, the Associated Press reported Monday.
The U.S. had about 100,000 there at its peak under the Obama administration in 2010 to 2011, according to AP.
http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/08/us_rep_richard_neal_sen_ed_mar.html
