Washington, D.C.— U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry (TX-13) made the following statement on President Obama’s speech on the situation in Afghanistan:

“President Obama did a good job of reminding us of 9/11 and of the reasons why Afghanistan remains important to the safety and security of America and our allies.  My concern, however, is that many questions remain.  For instance, if Afghanistan is as important as the President said, why would he put a deadline on our involvement there? Then there is the question as to why he did not fully support the requests of our commander in Afghanistan, General McChrystal.  There seems to be a mismatch between what President Obama has said about the importance of Afghanistan and what he has decided to do.

“Putting a timeline on our involvement could well encourage the enemy and discourage potential friends and allies from working with us.  If so, it will increase the dangers that our troops face.

“Now more than ever, it important that no one doubts our resolve and determination to succeed in this mission.  Doubts only increase the danger to our troops and make it more difficult for them to gain the cooperation they need.
If you are going to send troops to do a mission, then you back up those troops and what the commander requested 100 percent.

I look forward to asking some of these questions when Secretary of Defense Gates and General McChrystal testify before the House Armed Service Committee in the next few days.”