Quoted Text

Get out of war zone by 2014


U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says she supports a timetable for exit from Afghanistan

By KATIE PERKOWSKI

Times Union Washington bureau

WASHINGTON — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., on Tuesday announced her support for legislation that would require President Barack Obama to outline a timetable for the complete withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan by 2014.

Obama has said he will order troop withdrawals starting July 1 but has not set a specific deadline for the withdrawal process to be completed. Gillibrand said her bill would require Obama to submit a withdrawal timetable by July 31.

“America cannot afford an endless war in Afghanistan,” Gillibrand said. “After nearly a decade at war, with still no equal commitment from the Karzai government, and after all the lives we’ve sacrificed and the billions we’ve spent on this war, it’s time to start bringing our troops home.”

Gillibrand, who won re-election in November, said the pending legislation is “very consistent with what Obama has said in the past, but it provides a specific target about what we need to do — and when.”

Gillibrand has joined four other Senate Democrats in sponsoring the bill. They are Barbara Boxer of California, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Richard Durbin of Illinois and Tom Harkin of Iowa.

The senators’ legislation comes as American public support for the Afghan war is at an all-time low. A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday found that 64 percent of respondents said the war is not worth fighting, while 31 percent said it is worth fighting.

Meanwhile, Gen. David Petraeus, commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, told Congress on Tuesday that while U.S. forces have made significant progresses in certain areas of Afghanistan, security progress during the last year has been “fragile and reversible.”

“Having all of our eggs in one basket” limits U.S. abilities to counteract terrorists in other places, Gillibrand said.