Don Bacon: “I agree with the comments of many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle expressing grave concern over the…”

“I agree with the comments of many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle expressing grave concern over the President's decision to establish a date certain for the withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from Afghanistan. I believe this decision is deeply misguided, and it is damaging to the long-term national security interests of the United States and our allies. The strawman argument of ending forever wars might be a convenient campaign slogan, but it is strategically naive and deeply offensive to those who have volunteered to fight to ensure that the very organization which attacked us on September 11, 2001, is incapable of ever doing it again. This is their job. It is a job that I did on four deployments. It is our sworn duty. It is their sworn duty. They are proud to do it, and we honor them for it. The truth is our force levels in Afghanistan are a fraction of what they once were, and have been steadily decreasing for years. Maintaining a small residual force is not an unaffordable or unsustainable burden. More than any other deployment in the world, the U.S. and NATO presence in Afghanistan delivers tangible strategic benefits to the U.S. at a relatively small and ever-decreasing cost, not to mention the immense humanitarian benefit to the people of Afghanistan itself, especially the women and the girls.…”