Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced to President Obama through a public address today at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco that she believes there is no longer a need for 100,000 troops to be in Afghanistan, and that it is time to reduce our military presence in the country and shift our current mission. President Obama has been continuing the historic war on terrorism by maintaining deployment levels which began on October 7, 2001 as a response to the events of 9/11.
Barbara Boxer stated in her speech: “This is the longest war in history; it is time to bring it to an end. . . There is simply no justification, none, for the continued deployment of 100,000 American troops in Afghanistan.... Ending the war . . . would save over one trillion dollars over the next ten years.”
The address made by Senator Barbara Boxer follows legislation introduced by the Senator on January 26, 2011. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-IL) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) also joined Boxer in January to support legislation which expressed their support for President Obama’s plan to start the withdrawal of combat forces in July, 2011, from Afghanistan as well as a redeployment of troops.
Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense: “I believe no further reduction shoulder be considered without an honest and thorough assessment of the risks involved to include the missions we may need to shed in the future.” The Pentagon would like to wait until the fall of 2012 before evaluating a reduction in troop levels for the war in Afghanistan.
Boxer expressed today that a large number of deployed troops is not necessary going forward, as small groups of forces can conduct operations such as the one which found Osama Bin Laden. Senator Boxer also feels the troop levels can be decreased to around 10,000 and be equally effective as the current level of 100,000 deployed troops. She would like to see the bulk of the troops brought home by the end of 2011.
President Obama is investigating whether or not to decrease the amount of troops deployed in Afghanistan, and would like to announce his plan in July 2011. In an attempt to influence the President, Senator Barbara Boxer and 25 additional Senators sent the President a letter asking for an end to the war. In the meantime, the Pentagon is recommending to hold-off on withdrawing troops and to make a final decision near the end of 2012.
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