Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) sent a letter to President Trump earlier this week, calling on him to not only complete the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, but leave Iraq as well, saying the country can’t stay a great power and engage in endless war.
A US drawdown in Afghanistan is well ahead of schedule, with the last 4,000 troops potentially home before election day. Around 5,000 troops are in Iraq, and talks are set soon on the future of US troops there. Over the winter, Iraq’s parliament unanimously called for the US to leave.
House Democrats have been split on the question of either encouraging military pullouts, or trying to set in place obstacles to prevent Trump making that decision. Though troop levels are far down from their peaks, the cost of keeping them in place is still substantial, something the US can ill afford every year with the budget struggles of the coronavirus.
Biggs and Massie note that neither Iraq nor Afghanistan is vital to US national security, and don’t possess weapons to threaten the US, saying “neither nation is worth one more Gold Star family.”
“Throughout your entire presidency, you have worked tirelessly to Make America Great Again. We are confident you will repeat this feat again after this pandemic. However, the United States will not remain a great power for long if we stay engaged in perpetual warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan,” the letter says.
That’s it, blow smoke up his a$$. It works. Tell him he has a big Johnson and maybe he’ll leave Syria too. And how did Kentucky end up with Massie and Rand Paul but still keep voting for a dreg like McConnell.
I hate to be old and cynical, but “age, with his stealing steps, has clawed me in his clutch, and sent me” — sadly — beyond young and gullible.
Remember, it’s election season, so the BS threshold is way lower, and any statement — in this case their letter to Trump — must be seen in the light of their campaign-for-reelection effort. Their call for withdrawal has majority support among all voters. You and I both approve and support it. And that — not any depth of sincerity on the part of Reps Biggs and Massie — is the point. They want anti-war swing voters to vote for them.
Two non-establishment owned congressmen,
well it’s a start.
Call me jaded and cynical. But it is more likely that the two are having an eye to elections, and this may play well with their electorate. This is like democrats having the congresswomen that play well in large Moslem populated districts. They are allowed to make ant-Israeli noises when electioneering, but are firmly in Party pocket when it comes to Israeli politics. Likewise, Republican party is definitely not the party against wars. Endless of otherwise.
It plays well with electorate but it has bern SIDELINED by identity politics. Whatever works. Just keep populace voting — makes them feel good.
Let us see what happens as the result of the letter. And what is the war record of these two? Nothing is as it appears to be.
I’ve heard Massie’s name mentioned before. Maybe influenced by Rand Paul?
Thomas Massie, Justin Amash, and Rand Paul often work together.
“Thomas Massie, Justin Amash, and Rand Paul leave the Senate after successfully blocking the Patriot Act renewal”
https://fresh.mx/1d6f5
Nah Massie is pretty pure libertarian and everything here is lockstep w/ his principles. If anything Massie has shown he will say unpopular things in regards to reelection – he was the congressman that actually tried to make congressmen put their names on their vote to give corporations 6 trillion in bailouts..No idea on Biggs.
How about the troops in Syria? Why didn’t they include them?
Nobody will leave until the opium poppies are harvested and processed for the CIA.
You may have a point. I found at least one unsubstantiated report suggesting that this is occurring.
https://www.sott.net/article/437998-Lavrov-NATO-aircraft-are-used-to-traffic-Afghan-drugs
The United States military has protected the opium trade for centuries, and explains why our troops remain there: