Even as President Barack Obama opened up a new military campaign in Libya this week, Rep. Chris Murphy and other House Democrats are calling on him to stick to his pledge to end the war in Afghanistan-and soon.
Obama has long vowed to begin drawing down U.S. troops from Afghanistan this summer. But just in case he’s having second thoughts, Murphy, D-5th District, and about 80 other Democrats sent the president a letter last week warning him against allowing “our nation’s military engagement in Afghanistan” to become “the status quo.”
The letter, which was also signed by Reps. John Larson and Rosa DeLauro, Democrats from the 1st and 3rd districts respectively, states that “the forthcoming reduction in U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan must be significant and sizeable.”
Neither that letter, not Murphy’s press release touting it, mention the new military campaign in Libya. Murphy issued a statement earlier this week saying that while he supported efforts to avert a humanitarian disaster, “we need to be careful about engaging in a protracted struggle that forces us to pick sides in an emerging civil war.”
Murphy will get a chance to expand on that statement next week. He’s a new member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, a panel that’s likely to hold a hearing on the Libya situation.