Anatomy of a Surprise Win: Senate Urges Accelerated Troops Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Dec 08, 2011
On November 30, 2011, Sen Jeff Merkley (D-OR) stood on the Senate floor to speak on behalf of an amendment he and other Senators had offered to require the President to develop a plan for an expedited withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.
After his speech, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) bitingly criticized the amendment as “another accelerated plan [that] would obviously have the result of even greater risk to the men and women in the military.”
A few moments after railing against the provision, McCain called for a voice vote, and it was approved. It was a stunning and unexpected victory for critics of the war in Afghanistan.
Five months earlier, 27 Senators signed a letter circulated by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Tom Udall (D-NM) urging President Obama to order a “sizable and sustained” withdrawal of troops.
The effort demonstrated that a significant bloc of Senators wanted to see the American military effort in Afghanistan wind down.
Last picture show: Senate finishes Defense Authorization
Dec 02, 2011
Yesterday, the Senate voted 93-7 to approve the bill. Senate and House conferees will meet this month in conference to reconcile differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill.
The seven “no” votes were cast by three Republicans, three Democrats and one independent: Coburn (R-OK), Paul (R-KY), Lee (R-UT), Harkin (D-IA), Merkley (D-OR), Wyden (D-OR) and Sanders (I-VT).
The bill contains $527 billion for the basic Pentagon budget, $117 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and $18 billion for Department of Energy, for a total of about $662 billion. The total authorization is $27 billion less than the President’s request and $43 billion less than enacted in Fiscal Year 2011.
By unanimous consent, the Senate adopted a package of 11 “non-controversial” amendments. It also adopted other amendments by voice vote. The Senate rejected two amendments offered by Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) to alter the controversial provisions on detainees in the bill, but later approved a compromise amendment offered by Sen. Feinstein by vote of 99-1 that would leave it to the Supreme Court to make the final decision on the constitutionality of holding American citizens in military custody. It is unclear if this compromise language will be enough to prevent the White House from vetoing the final version of the bill.
Senate votes for Merkley amendment on accelerated withdrawal from Afghanistan
Nov 30, 2011
Council for a Livable World Welcomes Senate Vote In Favor of An Accelerated Withdrawal of U.S.Troops from Afghanistan
Washington, D.C. .. Council for a Livable World applauded the Senate vote today in favor of the Merkley amendment asking the President to accelerate the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.
The Senate approved the amendment by a voice vote in a surprising rebuke to those who want to stay in Afghanistan indefinitely – including Senator John McCain (R-AZ).
Clearly Senator McCain, who opposed the amendment, did not call for a roll call vote because he was not sure he could win.
John Isaacs, Executive Director of Council for a Livable World, said: “There is a rising tide in United States Senate and around the country to end U.S. combat in Afghanistan.”
Sen. Jeff Merkley offers successful out-of-Afghanistan amendment
Nov 29, 2011
The following Senators signed onto at least one version of the amendment as of Nov. 30
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
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Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)
Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK)
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV)
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sen. Bernard Sanders (D-VT)
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
When Sen. Merkley offered the amendment on November 30, he moved new language, amendment No. 1257, as follows:
On page 484, strike line 22 through 24 and insert the following:
(c) TRANSITION PLAN.—The President shall devise a plan based on inputs from military commanders, NATO and Coalition allies, the diplomatic missions in the region, and appropriate members of the Cabinet, along with the consultation of Congress, for expediting the drawdown of United States combat troops in Afghanistan and accelerating the transfer of security authority to Afghan authorities.
(d) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The President shall include the most current set of benchmarks established pursuant to subsection (b) and the plan pursuant to subsection (c) with each report on progress
Urge the Senate to End Afghanistan War
Nov 18, 2011
October 21, 2011 is a day to be remembered. It was on that day that President Obama announced that all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year.
While we celebrate this victory, we must recognize that there is much work left to be done. Now that the war in Iraq is ending, it is time to end the war in Afghanistan.
There is now bipartisan legislation in the Senate sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) calling for President Obama to bring our troops home from Afghanistan.
Please tell your Senators to co-sponsor and support the Merkley resolution to end the war.
Chris Cillizza: Senate election rankings
Aug 19, 2011
All quiet on the Senate retirement front
In the first five months of the year, it seemed like a Senator decided to call it quits once a week.
All tolled, eight Senators — six who caucus with Democrats and two Republicans — said “sayonara” by mid-May. (Wisconsin Rep. Herb Kohl was the last to bow out on May 13.)
Since then? Silence.
That’s good news for Senate Democrats who are trying to protect their three-seat majority in 2012 even while facing the difficult math of having to defend 23 of their own seats as compared to just 10 Republican-held seats.
A few months ago, it felt like the dam was about to burst on Senate Democrats — with an exodus of members in swing states that would make holding the majority virtually impossible.
Those leaks have since been contained and no new ones have sprung up — bad metaphor alert! — leaving Democrats with a tough but not impossible path to retaining the majority next November.
Sens. Merkley, Udall, Lee: Let’s Not Linger in Afghanistan
Jul 05, 2011
Kudoos to three Senators for keeping the pressure on President Obama to draw down all troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012, and not waiting until 2014.
New York Times OpEd, July 4, 2011 - By Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Tom Udall (D-NM)
LAST month President Obama announced plans for withdrawing by next summer the approximately 30,000 American troops sent to Afghanistan as part of the 2009 surge.
We commend the president for sticking to the July date he had outlined for beginning the withdrawal. However, his plan would not remove all regular combat troops until 2014. We believe the United States is capable of achieving this goal by the end of 2012. America would be more secure and stronger economically if we recognized that we have largely achieved our objectives in Afghanistan and moved aggressively to bring our troops and tax dollars home.
After Al Qaeda attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, we rightly sought to bring to justice those who attacked us, to eliminate Al Qaeda’s safe havens and training camps in Afghanistan, and to remove the terrorist-allied Taliban government. With hard work and sacrifice, our troops, intelligence personnel and diplomatic corps have skillfully achieved these objectives, culminating in the death of Osama bin Laden.
2 more Senators speak out: Widespread Demand for Significant Afghan Troop Withdrawal
Jun 22, 2011
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV): "I believe it is time for President Obama to begin a substantial and responsible reduction in our military presence in Afghanistan. I believe it is time for us to rebuild America, not Afghanistan. That is why I strongly agreed with Senators Merkley and Lee, and the words of 27 of my Republican and Democratic colleagues."
Congressional Record, June 21, 2011
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA): "It is time for the United States to lighten its footprint in the country. It is also a time to accelerate the shift in responsibility to Afghan forces and for a drawdown of a significant number of United States troops from Afghanistan."
Congressional Record, June 21, 2011June 21, 2011
Twenty-Seven Senators Urge Significant Afghan Troop Cuts
Jun 15, 2011
Today, twenty-seven Senators sent President Obama a letter demanding “a sizable and sustained reduction of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, beginning in July 2011.”
President Obama is expected to make a decision on troop levels in coming days.
The letter, circulated by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Tom Udall (D-NM), marks a significant increase in Senate opposition to a long-term American military presence in Afghanistan.
Last year, only 18 Senators voted for a Feingold (D-WI) amendment demanding a timetable for withdrawal.
It follows on the heels of a 204-215 House vote on May 26 against the amendment offered by Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) requiring the President to establish a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan. While this effort lost, the amendment produced the most votes thus far to end the war in Afghanistan.
Chris Cillezza: The 6 states that could decide the Senate and the presidency
Jun 12, 2011
By Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/the-six-states-that-could-decide-the-presidency-and-the-senate/2011/06/09/AGI67BPH_blog.html
Of the 10 Senate races most likely to switch parties in the 2012 election, six of them are in states likely to be targeted by the two national parties at the presidential level.
Those six states — New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin and Virginia — could well then decide not only the identity of the next president but also which party controls the Senate in 2013.
In 2008, President Obama carried five of the six, losing only Missouri — and that narrowly.
But in the intervening three years, Republicans have captured the governorships of New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Wisconsin and Virginia as well as 13 U.S. House seats in those six states combined.
The question then for 2012 is whether the political atmospherics will more closely resemble 2008 (good for Democrats) or 2010 (good for Republicans).
