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USAction Supports Afghan Exit But Opposes Troop Escalation: Too Great a Risk, Too High a Cost
December 2, 2009USAction today praised President Obama's goal of a concrete end to the war in Afghanistan, coupled with political and military benchmarks for success, but expressed profound concern over plans to commit at least 30,000 new troops to the war effort. "We support the fact that President Obama has a set exit strategy because the previous administration did not," said USAction Program Director Alan Charney. "We are concerned that adding 30,000 troops to the Afghan war zone will make the goal of exiting Afghanistan within three years difficult to achieve. We firmly and resolutely oppose expansion of the war in Afghanistan." Charney questioned the cost of expanding the war in Afghanistan - a cost that is expressed through the lives of Americans and Afghanis lost and the sacrifice and suffering borne by the families of those killed and maimed. "To paraphrase John Kerry: How do you ask a family to be the last to lose a loved one in Afghanistan?" Charney said. "The risk of escalation is too great. The cost is too high." Full release.