Durbin Statement on Plan to Begin Drawdown of US Forces in Afghanistan

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement tonight, after President Obama announced plans to begin the drawdown of American forces in Afghanistan:

“The President’s announcement that we will withdraw 30,000 of our 100,000 troops from Afghanistan by next summer is a step towards the end of this long war.”

“We invaded Afghanistan to end al Qaeda and with the killing of Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, we have accomplished our goal.”

“Over the coming months, I’ll continue to press for a swift and substantial withdrawal of our combat forces from Afghanistan. Ten years, hundreds of billions of dollars and the loss of over 1,600 American service members later, it’s time for our fighting men and women to come home.”

Last week, Durbin signed a letter with 26 members of U.S. Senate, calling for a sizeable and sustained reduction of our forces in Afghanistan. A copy of that letter can be found here.

Senator Durbin is the Assistant Senate Majority Leader and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

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