Rep. Wenstrup calls on Obama to maintain troop levels in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As General Campbell, the U.S. Commander in Afghanistan, is making the rounds on Capitol Hill this week, nearly two dozen Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee are calling on President Obama to maintain current troop levels of 9,800 in Afghanistan through 2016.

The letter, spearheaded by Congressman Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), warns of the “dangers of a premature drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan,” saying the country “will once again become a safe haven for terrorism if we choose to abandon our investment” there.

“As General Campbell testified before the Senate, our Afghan allies are now ‘operationally emergent.’ We cannot now withdraw from our footprint in the country, at places like Bagram’s Air Force Base, and leave a vacuum for the reemerging Taliban to fill,” Wenstrup said.

“We must learn the lessons of Iraq and listen to those with experience in Afghanistan. With a willing partner in Afghan President Ghani and his request for our continued support at higher troop levels, it would be a mistake to end our counterterrorism operations based on political timelines."

With current Taliban gains in Kunduz, the Representatives wrote that “Al Qaeda and its affiliates, the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, as well as the rise of ISIS, continue to present persistent and multifaceted challenges to the region.

“While the capability of the Afghan National Security Forces continues to improve, they still rely heavily on our training and expertise.”

The letter is available at http://wenstrup.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398987