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Obey Statement on President's New Afghanistan War Policy

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

“If this endeavor is to be pursued, we must have a renewed sense of shared sacrifice”

WASHINGTON – Congressman Dave Obey (D-WI), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statement this evening on the President’s new Afghanistan war policy:

“The President has inherited a god awful mess and has no good options available. I hope his policy succeeds, and I know our troops – who have sacrificed so much already – will give everything they’ve got to make it work, but there are huge obstacles that stand in the way. We can have the most carefully thought out policy in the world, but if we do not have the tools on the ground, the odds for success are stacked against us. And right now, the only tools available to us are the Pakistani government and the Karzai government in Afghanistan. Both are incredibly weak reeds to lean on.

“We also face the question of how we will pay for the endeavor. The cost of conducting the campaign in Afghanistan could approach $90 billion this year and we’re told a long-term, multi-year commitment is necessary for success. That could cost anywhere from $500 billion to $900 billion over the next decade, which could devour our ability to pay for the actions necessary to rebuild our own economy. We simply cannot afford to shortchange the crucial investments we need in education, job training, healthcare, and energy independence. The biggest threat to our long-term national security is a stunted economy.

“If this endeavor is to be pursued, we must have a renewed sense of shared sacrifice – because right now only military families are paying the cost of this war. A progressive war surtax is the fairest way to pay for it – fairest to working class families and fairest to military families.”