Today, one of the greatest security challenges our nation faces is in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Our mission is to defeat al Qaeda and eliminate it from the region, stem the tide of radicalism in Pakistan and secure that country’s nuclear arsenal from terrorists and rogue actors. We must also prevent al Qaeda and its Taliban allies from reclaiming the safe haven in Afghanistan it used to attack us on September 11, tragically taking thousands of innocent lives. I was in favor of our military action against the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan after al-Qaeda’s horrific attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11.  The Taliban provided support and a safe-haven to al-Qaeda.  Striking back at members of al-Qaeda, and the Taliban who sheltered them, was an appropriate response. 

However, largely as a result of the Bush Administration diverting us from our mission and leading us into an unnecessary war in Iraq, we find ourselves still engaged in Afghanistan eight years later. Our men and women in uniform have courageously served in Afghanistan now for longer than our soldiers have served in any war in our nation’s history.

In August, I closely reviewed General Stanley McChrystal’s report, which called for a dramatic increase in American troops, And I, along with millions of Americans, watched President Obama's speech on December 1st, in which he announced plans to send an additional 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan to secure population centers outside of Kabul, roll back the influence of the Taliban in the countryside, and accelerate the training of Afghan forces.

While I respect the judgment of the Commander-in-Chief and recognize that President Obama did not come to this decision without great deliberation and reflection, I remain skeptical that adding more troops is the right strategy for our country.  My concern is that the mission of securing all of Afghanistan is very broad, expands beyond our core mission of protecting our country from al Qaeda, is likely to be very costly in both lives and dollars, and may very well take a very long time.

Like most Americans, I have an unwavering confidence in our armed forces. The ability of our men and women in uniform is unmatched in history.  But I believe that our mission in Afghanistan must focus more narrowly on the threat to our nation's safety, which comes from terrorist groups like al Qaeda. We must keep terrorist groups on the run and fight to ensure that we never again see another 9/11. But al Qaeda is no longer an Afghanistan-centric group. Instead, our mission should remain eliminating al Qaeda from the region, stemming the tide of radicalism in Pakistan, and securing that country’s nuclear arsenal from international terrorists.  The President should continue to focus resources on dismantling al Qaeda and disrupting its ability to recruit supporters and plot attacks against the U.S. and our allies. They are a relatively weakened force located along the Afghan-Pakistani border, and have also spread to other parts of the world including Somalia and Yemen, as the President described. 

The mission against al Qaeda must be pursued not just through military means but through effective counterterrorism tools that disrupt terrorist plots, eliminate terrorist networks, and combat violent ideologies.  We should continue our multi-national effort in Afghanistan to train and support a national government--with great respect for our President--I am concerned about a potentially open-ended mission that places an overwhelming emphasis on an expensive military effort in Afghanistan that strays from a mission focused on al Qaeda.