Last night, the President outlined his plan to reduce our military footprint in Afghanistan.  It includes a reduction of 5000 troops starting this summer and an additional 5000 troops by the end of the year. The President expects to redeploy the 33,000 troops that were sent over as a result of the Afghan “surge” by the end of next year.

I recently signed a letter calling for the President to honor the pledge he made to begin the drawdown of forces in Afghanistan in July.  I am encouraged the President has followed through on that pledge. The progress that has been made justifies a reduction in the number of troops engaged in intensive combat operations. However, success in Afghanistan remains in our national security interest and it is critical the pace of withdrawal not conflict with our capacity to eliminate any new terrorist threats.

As a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, I will continue to monitor our military, political, and humanitarian interests in the region and continue to push for policies that will bring greater security to America and the world.