Senator Coons this morning called on the president to reduce the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan as the beginning of a shift in strategy from counterinsurgency to counterterrorism. He made the case for change in an op-ed in The News Journal.
Chris’ op-ed follows months of Foreign Relations Committee hearings on Afghanistan progress, meetings with officials from the military, State Department, and the Afghan government, as well as a visit with troops and field commanders in Afghanistan.
Chris concluded that the best way to keep America safe was to ensure the flexibility of our military in responding to emerging threats across the world is a substantial drawdown of our forces and a targeted strategy of counterterrorism.
More important than determining a precise number for our initial drawdown is ensuring that we have a sustainable long-term strategy. In his op-ed, Chris wrote:
A substantial drawdown of forces — which I support — should not be the first step on a course of total disengagement from Afghanistan. Rather, it should mark the beginning of a new, more targeted counter-terrorism strategy that more wisely focuses our military and diplomatic resources on defending America’s security interests.
With al Qaeda and affiliated groups now operating in Somalia and Yemen, we need greater operational flexibility, which will necessitate the repositioning of troops and resources out of Afghanistan.
Our men and women in uniform have performed their mission with courage, dedication, and strength of character, and we owe it to them to have the best long-term strategy for securing our nation possible.
To read the full op-ed, click here.