Political Quotes

“Madam President, I oppose the Feingold amendment. Section 1019 of the Feingold amendment specifically requires the President, by December 31, 2010, to submit a timetable for the completion of redeployment of our troops out of Afghanistan. The message our military presence in Afghanistan is not open-ended was delivered by President Obama at West Point last December when he set the date of July 2011 to begin a reduction of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. It was an important message of reassurance to the American people, and it was an important message for the Afghan leaders to hear: that while we intend to help Afghanistan succeed in its battle with the Taliban, our troop presence is not open-ended, and they must build up their own army and their police force to take responsibility for their own security. If we adopt the Feingold amendment, we will be sending a very different message to the government and to the people of Afghanistan. It would reinforce the fear if we adopt this amendment--an already deep-seated fear in Afghanistan--that the United States will abandon the region. That is a message we can ill-afford to send regarding the future stability of Afghanistan, and it is a particularly unwise message to send while our forces are still deploying to Afghanistan and while the Taliban is doing everything it can to convince the Afghan people that U.S., NATO, and Afghan forces are unable to protect them from the violence and the intimidation that is their hallmark.…”