Win Without War Applauds U.S. Senate Call for an Accelerated Drawdown in Afghanistan

Last Updated on November 30, 2011.

Earlier today, the United States Senate joined the growing consensus of the American people that it is time to bring our troops home from Afghanistan. The Senate adopted by voice vote a bipartisan amendment, offered by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) on behalf of 21 Senators to the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2012. The Merkley amendment called for the President to submit a plan for “expediting the drawdown of United States combat troops in Afghanistan.”

“The Senate just sent a clear message in support of ending the war in Afghanistan, now the longest war in our nation’s history,” said Win Without War Coalition Coordinator Stephen Miles. “By passing Sen. Merkley’s amendment the Senate is joining the American public who support accelerating the drawdown of US troops. With Osama bin Laden dead, al Qaeda significantly diminished, and the future of Afghanistan now in the hands of the Afghan people, our brave men and women in uniform have done everything asked of them. Now it is time to bring them home”

The adoption of the Merkley amendment shows a remarkable growth of opposition to the war in the Senate, with only 18 Senators having supported similar legislation offered by former Sen. Feingold (D-WI) in the previous Congress. With a recent CNN poll published earlier this month showing a record high 63% of Americans opposed to the war in Afghanistan, the Senate’s action today shows they have clearly heard the voice of the American people.

 

November 30, 2011