Rep. Sanchez statement on President’s plans in Afghanistan

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA-47), senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement regarding President Obama’s impending announcement that he will begin a significant draw down of American troops from Afghanistan in 2012.  Congresswoman Sanchez has long advocated for a full withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.

“I am pleased to hear that the President plans to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan,” said Sanchez.  “Action to withdrawal our troops is long overdue and the costs of prolonging a full scale war in Afghanistan far outweigh the benefits.  Terrorists bent on harming the U.S. are not indigenous only to Afghanistan, and as terrorism arises in places like Yemen and Pakistan, the United States should move forward with a more global anti-terror strategy. Instead of engaging in a nation-building campaign in Afghanistan, we should focus our resources on rebuilding our own nation, whose economy has been ravaged by the worst recession since the Great Depression.

“I look forward to hearing the President’s full address to the nation tomorrow night, and I look forward to working with him to ensure our troops have the resources they need to responsibly and successfully wind down operations in Afghanistan.”

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez is proud to represent California’s 47^th Congressional District, which includes the cities of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, and parts of Fullerton in Orange County.  She serves as Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces and a senior member of the Committee on Homeland Security. Rep. Sanchez is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and sits on the bipartisan, bicameral Joint Economic Committee.