"House Members to Obama: Rethink Afghanistan Surge" (with video)

John Nichols (The Nation):

Congressional Democrats and Republicans are signing on to a letter urging President Obama to reconsider his plan to surge tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops into Afghanistan.

"Mr. President, in reviewing the past history of Afghanistan and the nations that have failed to conquer it -- Russia spent nine years in Afghanistan and lost many billions of dollars and more than 15,000 Russian soldiers-- we urge you to reconsider the decision to send an additional 17,000 troops and to resist pressure to escalate even further," reads a "Get on the Right Side of History" letter that has attracted the support of House Democrats Representative Neil Abercrombie, of Hawaii; John Conyers of Michigan; Bob Filner and Mike Honda of California; Steve Kagen of Wisconsin; Marcy Kaptur and Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, and Jim McGovern of Massachusetts.

Also signing the letter are Republicans Roscoe Bartlett, of Maryland, Howard Coble and Walter Jones Jr. of North Carolina; John Duncan of Tennessee; Ron Paul of Texas, and Ed Whitfield of Kentucky.

The full letter from the House members reads:

Dear Mr. President:

We have noted with some concern your announcement that an additional 17,000 US troops would be sent to Afghanistan. As the goals of our seven year military involvement remain troublingly unclear, we urge you to reconsider such a military escalation.

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 d riving 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.

In a tape released in 2004, Osama bin Laden stated that al Qaedas' goal was to "bleed.. .America to the point of bankruptcy" in Afghanistan. He continued, "All that we have to do is to send two mujahedeen to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al Qaeda, in order to make generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses without their achieving anything of note..."

We would do well to pay attention to these threats and to avoid falling into any such trap through escalation of our military presence in Afghanistan.

We are also concerned that any perceived military success in Afghanistan might create pressure to increase military activity in Pakistan. This could very well lead to dangerous destabilization in the region and would increase hostility toward the United States.

Mr. President, in reviewing the past history of Afghanistan and the nations that have failed to conquer it -- Russia spent nine years in Afghanistan and lost many billions of dollars and more than 15,000 Russian soldiers-- we urge you to reconsider the decision to send an additional 17,000 troops and to resist pressure to escalate even further.

In addition to the House members who have signed on, the letter has also been endorsed by religious, political and policy advocates from across the ideological spectrum, including:

Michael D. Ostrolenk, President, American Conservative Defense Alliance

Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)

Jodie Evans and Medea Benjamin, co-founders, CODEPINK: Women for Peace

Erik Leaver, Foreign Policy In Focus

Joe Volk, Executive Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)

Tom Hayden

Phyllis Bennis, New Internationalism project, Institute for Policy Studies

Robert Naiman, Senior Policy Analyst, Just Foreign Policy

Yifat Susskind, Communications Director, MADRE: Rights, Resources, and Results for Women Worldwide

(Rev.) James Kofski, Associate, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director, NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby

Dave Robinson, Executive Director, Pax Christi USA: National Catholic Peace Movement

Kevin Martin, Executive Director, Peace Action

John Leinung, Steering Committee, September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows

Charlie Clements, President and CEO, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)

Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator, United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ is a coalition of 1,400 national and local organizations.)

Michael Eisenscher, National Coordinator, U.S. Labor Against the War

Kevin Zeese, Executive Director, Voters for Peace

Former Congressman Tom Andrews, Director, Win Without War (WWW is a coalition of more than 40 national groups, many with religious affiliations.)

Susan Shaer, Executive Director, Women's Action for New Directions

Howie P.S.: I was surprised to learn that Americans United for Change and MoveOn have yet to get involved in the pushback on Afghanistan, as Laura Flanders writes about in "Silence on Afghanistan: If Only it Were a Joke," with video (02:40).