Bartlett Urges President to Reconsider Military Escalation in Afghanistan

Congressman Roscoe G. Bartlett, Jr. of Maryland was one of 14 members of Congress who signed a letter to President Obama on March 16, urging him "to reconsider the decision to send an additional 17,000 troops [to Afghanistan] and to resist pressure to escalate even further."  Bartlett, a Republican from Maryland, joined a politically diverse group that included fellow Republicans Walter Jones of North Carolina, who initiated the letter, and Ron Paul of Texas, and Democrats such as John Conyers of Michigan and Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.

Bartlett is a member of the Frederick, Maryland, Seventh-day Adventist Church....

He has served Maryland's Sixth District since first being elected in 1992.

The letter reads, in part:

If the intent is to leave behind a stable Afghanistan capable of governing itself, this military escalation may well be counterproductive.  A recent study by the Carnegie Endowment has concluded that "the only meaningful way to halt the insurgency's momentum is to start withdrawing troops. The presence of foreign troops is the most important element driving the resurgence of the Taliban."

The 2001 authorization to use military force in Afghanistan allowed military action "to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States." Continuing to fight a counterinsurgency war in Afghanistan does not appear to us to be in keeping with these directives and an escalation may actually harm US security.

See the complete list of signatories and full text of the letter at Groundswell.

Photo: Washington Times