Washington - U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) released the following statement tonight in response to President Obama's announcement to commence a drawdown of American combat forces from Afghanistan starting in July 2011:
"This is welcome news for our troops and their families and a significant step in the right direction that reflects the progress we have made toward meeting our original goals of disrupting and dismantling the Al Qaeda terrorist threat to the United States. However, we now need to begin the conversation about when to bring home our remaining 66,000 troops and about whether we will make fundamental changes to our operating strategy to reflect a more narrow counter-terrorism focus before 2014. We need an immediate change in strategy so that we can bring all of our troops home to their families and turn off the $10 billion a month faucet that is draining resources from pressing domestic needs. By reforming our mission, targeting our unique military resources, and refining our assistance mission to focus on sustainable and achievable outcomes, we can achieve our goals with fewer troops and less money."
###
