*************
January 19, 2011
Dear Representative Woolsey,
It would seem counterintuitive that conservatives—especially those who describe themselves as supporting the Tea Party movement—would share common political opinions with progressives, but it has now happened: The Afghanistan Study Group’s poll of self-identified conservatives concludes that “71% of conservatives overall, and 67% of conservative Tea Party supporters, indicate worry that the costs [of the war in Afghanistan] will make it more difficult for the United States to reduce the deficit this year and balance the federal budget by the end of this decade.” (1)
Additionally, “Two-thirds of conservatives support a reduction in troop levels in Afghanistan.” The conservatives polled were told the number of US troops in Afghanistan and the amount of money the US is spending there, and then they were asked if they believed that the US could “dramatically lower the number of troops and money spent in Afghanistan without putting America at risk.” The responses show that 57 percent “agree with that statement after hearing about the current number of troops in country and the funding needed to support them.”
While progressives are concerned about the US budget deficit and understand that withdrawing from Afghanistan would help greatly to reduce it, money is certainly not the only reason that we have long argued for US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Progressives have understood for years that this war has not accomplished its stated goals and can never accomplish them. (2)
Progressives are concerned with the loss of life in Afghanistan as well as the loss of money. Lives are the true “treasure” that is being lost every day—American lives, NATO troops’ lives, and Afghan lives. But if it will help Congress to make the choices necessary to get us out of Afghanistan, then the conservatives’ worry about the war’s costs should be addressed.
A direct step in that direction will be your cosponsorship to Rep. Barbara Lee’s Responsible End to the War in Afghanistan Act when she re-introduces the bill in the House this session. All money spent in Afghanistan would have to be spent to draw down the troops we have there, leading to a complete withdrawal. Thank you for co-sponsoring this important legislation in the last session.
We care about the money being spent in Afghanistan not only because it has been wasted in a fruitless exercise but also because every dollar spent on wars threatens to cut a dollar from the programs this country truly needs—for jobs creation, for programs that benefit our communities, and to ensure that Social Security’s funds are not consumed by the Pentagon’s voracious financial demands. For progressives, money exists to benefit people, not to harm them. The economic crisis we are experiencing requires more money for programs that help lower- and middle-income Americans, and money that leaves our shores to support wars is money that harms our people.
You have the responsibility to heed your constituents’ concerns—especially when those concerns are expressed by such a large majority of the people. The American people are worried about where our tax dollars are being spent, and your constituents—across the political spectrum—are worried “that the costs of war in Afghanistan will make it more difficult for the United States to reduce the budget deficit next year and balance the federal budget in the next decade.” (3)
Protect the American people effectively by keeping Social Security intact, bringing the troops home in 2011, and moving money from the Pentagon to our communities. This is what we need now and the legacy we want to leave to our children and grandchildren.
For our present and our future,
Progressive Democrats Sonoma County
PDA Chapter
_________
(1) – Afghanistan Study Group – Survey Results Of Conservatives, http://www.afghanistanstudygroup.org/2011/01/12/afghanistan-study-group-survey-results-of-conservatives/
(2) – On CBS’s “Sunday Morning” on Aug. 1, 2010, President Obama said our “modest” goals were: “Don’t allow terrorists to operate from this region. Don’t allow them to create big training camps and to plan attacks against the U.S. homeland with impunity.” Al Qaeda barely has a presence in Afghanistan at this point, and the Taliban’s interests are wholly internal.
(3) – National Conservatives: Survey of Registered Voters, http://www.afghanistanstudygroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/PDF-of-Poll-Results-of-Conservatives1.pdf
