PSR & CLW urge a significant troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
May 19, 2011
PSR is pleased to partner with the Council for a Livable World in urging the President to begin a significant troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in July.
The United States faces a
crucial decision in July.
More than a year ago,
President Obama sent 30,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan. He has
promised that the U.S. would begin withdrawal of those forces by mid-2011 with
all troops out of Afghanistan by 2014.
But as the deadline
approaches, the President is under intense pressure from the U.S. military,
particularly Gen. David Petraeus, the top allied commander in Afghanistan, to
make only negligible withdrawals.
Click
here to demand that President Obama begin a significant troop withdrawal
beginning in July of no fewer than 30,000 troops.
The Washington Post reported
that the military has recommended that “the July pullout be small to
insignificant.”
Defense Secretary Robert
Gates has
said there is “too much talk about leaving.”
This kind of pressure has
kept the United States engaged militarily in Afghanistan far too long and is
difficult for President Obama to withstand.
Urge
the President to begin bringing U.S. troops home now.
The American people have
clearly come to the conclusion that the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable.
A mid-March Washington Post-ABC News poll
showed nearly two-thirds of Americans say the war in Afghanistan is no longer
worth fighting and nearly three-quarters of Americans say Obama should withdraw
a “substantial number” of combat troops from Afghanistan this summer.
We believe the President
should keep his promise.
The U.S. war in Afghanistan
is the longest in our history, surpassing even the Vietnam War. We are in a
quagmire with no end in sight.
The U.S. is mired in a civil
war where the government has little legitimacy, the military situation is
stalemated and the political and economic situation remains dismal.
Fewer than 1% of Americans
are being asked to make sacrifices for this war, directly or indirectly. Since
we are not being asked to pay for the war, it is adding over $100 billion a
year to our debt while important domestic programs are being cut.
Thousands of American and
allied personnel have been killed or gravely wounded.
Act
now. Sign this petition asking for a major troop withdrawal to begin in July
with all troops out not later than the end of 2014.
Thank you for your urgent
attention to the situation.
Take Action »