[Peace-discuss] Would any of TIm's potential successors do this?

[C. G. Estabrook]

[From <http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/227613-overnight-defense-anti-war-lawmakers-push-for-accelerated-afghan-pullout 
 >]

05/15/12 06:45 PM ET

Welcome to the inaugural edition of DEFCON Hill's Overnight — an  
evening update of all the day's defense news.

A dozen anti-war House members are holding a press conference  
Wednesday morning to call for expedited withdrawal from Afghanistan,  
pushing back against President Obama’s speech earlier this month where  
he said the war was nearing its end.

The group of 11 Democrats and one Republican are planning to send a  
letter to Obama urging a more rapid withdrawal to coincide with the  
press conference.

The lawmakers are pushing back on Obama’s left in Afghanistan, where  
he’s tried to thread the needle on bringing an end to the war while  
rebutting criticisms from the right that he’s drawing down too quickly.

While the lawmakers are making a push with Wednesday’s presser, they  
aren’t calling for an immediate withdrawal as some of them might  
prefer, instead opting to ask the president to accelerate the  
transition to Afghan control.

“While many of us would prefer an immediate full withdrawal from  
Afghanistan, there is broad, bipartisan consensus in Congress and  
across America that it is time to accelerate the transition from U.S.  
to full Afghan control,” the lawmakers write.


Still, Wednesday’s press conference could draw attention to the  
withdrawal in Afghanistan, where U.S. troops will remain through 2014  
even as Obama is signaling the end of the war.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who was the lone House member to vote  
against the Afghanistan war in 2001, is heading the dozen lawmakers,  
and *Rep. Timothy Johnson (R-Ill.) is the lone Republican attending*.



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