{"id":9836,"date":"2009-12-01T22:21:40","date_gmt":"2009-12-02T05:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=9836"},"modified":"2009-12-02T14:36:49","modified_gmt":"2009-12-02T21:36:49","slug":"udall-lujan-skeptical-of-troop-buildup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/12\/udall-lujan-skeptical-of-troop-buildup\/","title":{"rendered":"Udall, Luj\u00e1n skeptical of troop buildup"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"President

President Barack Obama speaking at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point about his new strategy in Afghanistan. (White House photo by Lawrence Jackson)<\/p><\/div>\n

Reactions from New Mexico\u2019s congressional delegation were mixed following President Barack Obama\u2019s announcement of his plan to send an additional 30,000 American soldiers<\/a> to Afghanistan. U.S. Sen. Tom Udall<\/a> and Rep. Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n<\/a> said they aren\u2019t convinced the president made the right decision.<\/p>\n

You can watch Obama\u2019s speech here<\/a>, or read the full text of it here<\/a>. In short, Obama said the process of increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan to about 100,000 will begin this month. The troop buildup will cost $30 billion in the first year. Obama pledged to begin withdrawing American soldiers from Afghanistan in 18 months.<\/p>\n

Here are the full statements released by members of the New Mexico delegation following Obama\u2019s speech:<\/p>\n

\"Jeff

Jeff Bingaman<\/p><\/div>\n

U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman<\/span><\/span><\/a>, D-N.M.<\/h3>\n

\u201cFor most of the time since 2001, the United States has not had a coherent strategy for the\u00a0war in Afghanistan. Until now we have had an open-ended commitment of troops and resources, to achieve a goal that has not been clearly defined,\u201d Bingaman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight,\u00a0President Obama\u00a0outlined a plan that he believes will successfully end the\u00a0war in Afghanistan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am eager to learn the details of how the additional troops will be used, and look forward to\u00a0congressional hearings\u00a0in the coming days,\u201d Bingaman added.<\/p>\n

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M.<\/h3>\n
\"Tom

Tom Udall<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI appreciate President Obama\u2019s thoughtful and deliberative approach in both determining and explaining the path forward in Afghanistan. He obviously inherited a very complex situation as president,\u201d Udall said. \u201cFighting two costly wars and determining the best course of action is not an easy task to undertake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout the process that has led to the president\u2019s decision, I have expressed my concerns surrounding the strategy in Afghanistan. I do not believe our commitment there should be open-ended,\u201d he said. \u201cIt should be an Afghan-led effort. And with the widespread government corruption we have seen — especially in the recent election — I do not believe we have a reliable partner in this effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the president and his administration are beginning to address these concerns, I remain unconvinced that sending an additional 30,000 American troops into harm\u2019s way improves the situation or advances our national security interests in the region,\u201d Udall said. \u201cAlthough skeptical, I remain eager to learn the rationale for this strategy in Afghanistan as the plan and its details are explored through committee testimony and debate in the days and weeks to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Harry

Harry Teague<\/p><\/div>\n

U.S. Rep. Harry Teague<\/span><\/span><\/a>, D-N.M.<\/h3>\n

\u201cFor too long, our goals of rooting out Al Qaeda and returning Afghanistan to an independent nation that no longer is a threat to our national security were put on hold due to our involvement in Iraq,\u201d Teague said. \u201cTonight\u2019s announcement represents a renewed focus on Afghanistan that is tied to clear parameters and benchmarks. I am particularly encouraged to see a commitment to training Afghan security forces and stabilizing the area so we can begin to draw down troops as early as 2011.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I would have liked to see him talk more about our plan for the large number of troops that will be returning home from this war,\u201d Teague said. \u201cWe learned from the last administration the dangers of not planning for the health care of new veterans, and I\u2019m going to be doing my best to make sure that President Obama doesn\u2019t forget that lesson. As we move forward in Afghanistan, my highest priority and responsibility will be to ensure that our service members have the equipment and backup they need to succeed in their mission and make it back to us safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Martin

Martin Heinrich<\/p><\/div>\n

U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich<\/span><\/span><\/a>, D-N.M.<\/h3>\n

\u201cTonight, President Obama articulated both the necessary resources and a clear strategy to accomplish our goals in Afghanistan and the region. This is a critical step forward, and frankly, it should have taken place years ago,\u201d Heinrich said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must continue to reach out to the international community for an increased commitment to defeat al Qaeda and stabilize the region,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Afghan government must also step up its own work and assume greater responsibility for securing its people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith an established mission and defined goals, I am reassured that our brave men and women in uniform will succeed,\u201d Heinrich said.<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n, D-N.M.<\/h3>\n
\"Ben

Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI share the administration\u2019s goals of disrupting and defeating Al Qaeda and keeping our country safe, and I am encouraged that\u00a0President Obama outlined his clear strategy,\u201d Luj\u00e1n said. \u201cHowever, I remain concerned about committing more troops to Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn August, I traveled to Afghanistan and met with several U.S. and Afghan officials to discuss how the United States can successfully bring the war to an end and help the people of Afghanistan. Based on these discussions, it is clear that the people of Afghanistan must come together to take responsibility for their country by strengthening Afghan forces and police and addressing corruption in government,\u201d he said. \u201cFurthermore, there must be an emphasis and commitment to humanitarian and diplomatic efforts, as we cannot lose sight of the importance of human rights,\u00a0including women\u2019s rights, in Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I am concerned about troop increases, I will continue to support the men and women of our\u00a0Armed Forces. And I thank them for their service,\u201d Luj\u00e1n said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reactions from New Mexico\u2019s congressional delegation were mixed following President Barack Obama\u2019s announcement of his plan to send an additional 30,000 American soldiers to Afghanistan. U.S. Sen. Tom Udall and Rep. Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n said they aren\u2019t convinced the president made the right decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[144,116],"class_list":["post-9836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-afghanistan","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9836\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}