[Peace-discuss] Rep. Michael Honda Backs Afghanistan Military Withdrawal Timetable

[Robert Naiman]

On Tuesday, Rep. Michael Honda signed his name to legislation put
forward by Sen. Russ Feingold, Rep. Jim McGovern and Rep. Walter Jones
that would require the President to establish a timetable for the
redeployment of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

This is potentially a bellwether event, because Rep. Honda - together
with Rep. Grijalva, who also signed his name to the McGovern bill on
Tuesday - has been a leader on Afghanistan in the Congressional
Progressive Caucus, including chairing the CPC Afghanistan task force.
Rep. Honda has been very critical of the war, but he has not been an
automatic supporter of anti-war legislative initiatives.

If the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party" in Washington gets
onto the McGovern bill in the next few weeks, the political space to
be a "liberal" in Washington who supports an open-ended military
commitment in Afghanistan will have largely evaporated when the House
considers $33 billion more for war in Afghanistan between now and
Memorial Day. Progressives in the House may be able to extract from
the leadership a vote on a timetable for withdrawal when the House
considers the war supplemental.
[...]
And this sequence of events - should it come to pass - will help
legitimize the idea of a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign
forces from Afghanistan in international political discourse, at a
moment at which such a development could prove decisive.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/rep-michael-honda-backs-a_b_547734.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/22/859658/-Rep.-Michael-Honda-Backs-Afghanistan-Military-Withdrawal-Timetable

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/554

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/42532


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Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org

6 minute video: highlights of the House Afghanistan debate
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/video/housedebate

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