McConnell: ‘The Situation in Afghanistan is Urgent’
September 30, 2009
‘Now it’s time for Congress to hear General McChrystal’s detailed assessment of the mission that we confirmed him for, and to give him an opportunity to explain why he’s concluded that additional troops are needed to avert failure’
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the McChrystal Counterinsurgency Plan:
“The situation in Afghanistan is urgent, and we’re told that action is necessary soon. But to better understand the need for action, the American people need to know all the details. And they should have those details explained to them by the man who knows them best.
“It’s hard to deny the urgency of General McChrystal’s assessment, parts of which have already been made public. And it’s impossible to ignore his depiction of a grave and deteriorating situation in the same part of the world where a group terrorists plotted the 9/11 attacks. General McChrystal’s assessment of Afghanistan should worry all of us. As the President told a Turkish audience in April, ‘The world has come too far to let this region backslide, and to let al Qaeda terrorists plot further attacks.’
“Earlier this year, President Obama expressed his confidence in General McChrystal by appointing him to his current post. Following the President’s lead, the Senate expressed its confidence in General McChrystal by confirming him for his current mission without dissent. Now it’s time for Congress to hear his detailed assessment of the mission that we confirmed him for, and to give him an opportunity to explain why he’s concluded that additional troops are needed to avert failure.”
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the McChrystal Counterinsurgency Plan:
“The situation in Afghanistan is urgent, and we’re told that action is necessary soon. But to better understand the need for action, the American people need to know all the details. And they should have those details explained to them by the man who knows them best.
“It’s hard to deny the urgency of General McChrystal’s assessment, parts of which have already been made public. And it’s impossible to ignore his depiction of a grave and deteriorating situation in the same part of the world where a group terrorists plotted the 9/11 attacks. General McChrystal’s assessment of Afghanistan should worry all of us. As the President told a Turkish audience in April, ‘The world has come too far to let this region backslide, and to let al Qaeda terrorists plot further attacks.’
“Earlier this year, President Obama expressed his confidence in General McChrystal by appointing him to his current post. Following the President’s lead, the Senate expressed its confidence in General McChrystal by confirming him for his current mission without dissent. Now it’s time for Congress to hear his detailed assessment of the mission that we confirmed him for, and to give him an opportunity to explain why he’s concluded that additional troops are needed to avert failure.”
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