Word of Mouth Salutes Russ Feingold

Russ Feingold, the only U.S. Senator to oppose the "Patriot" Act, has made the following statement in response to last night's speech by the President of the Military-Industrial Complex:

Feingold Statement on the President's Decision to Increase Our Troop Presence in Afghanistan

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

I do not support the president’s decision to send additional troops to fight a war in Afghanistan that is no longer in our national security interest.  It’s an expensive gamble to undertake armed nation-building on behalf of a corrupt government of questionable legitimacy.  Sending more troops could further destabilize Afghanistan and, more importantly, Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state where al Qaeda is headquartered. While I appreciate that the president made clear we won’t be in Afghanistan forever, I am disappointed by his decision not to offer a timetable for ending our military presence there.  I will work with members of both parties and both houses of Congress to push for a flexible timetable to reduce our troop levels in Afghanistan, as part of a comprehensive strategy to combat al Qaeda in the region and around the world.