Six Democratic members of Congress and a liberal advocacy group are urging President Barack Obama to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan now that al-Qaida kingpin Osama bin Laden is dead.
“In the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death, now is the time to shift toward the swift, safe, and responsible withdrawal of U.S. troops and military contractors from Afghanistan,” members of the
Progressive Congressional Caucus wrote Wednesday in a letter to the president.
They said they “strongly urge you to announce plans for a near-term and significant drawdown of U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan beginning no later than July of this year.”
Signatories on the letter are Reps. Keith Ellison of Minnesota; Raul Grijalva of Arizona; and Barbara Lee, Lynn Woolsey, Maxine Waters, and Michael Honda of California.
The political action committee
MoveOn.org is seeking signatures for a petition calling on Obama to bring a swift end to the war in Afghanistan.
“Warmongers in the military and media are using the killing of Osama bin Laden as a reason to intensify the war in Afghanistan,” the petition says. “As President Obama considers his commitment of drawing down troops this July, we must let him know that America is more committed than ever to bringing our troops home. "
Obama said in his State of the Union address in January that he would begin drawing down the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan in July. He did not say how many would leave.
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