Doggett Diverges With Obama On Afghanistan Policy

Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin), in a speech on the House floor yesterday, expressed marked differences with President Barack Obama over policy on Afghanistan.

Via the Austin American-Statesman:

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett spoke critically today about the American presence in Afghanistan.

Doggett, an Austin Democrat, spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives after Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, offered a resolution calling for the president to remove all U.S. troops from the war-torn country by the end of the year.

The resolution failed by a wide margin, and Doggett opposed it.

But a press release from Doggett’s office said Kucinich’s resolution provided “an overdue opportunity to challenge the current course in Afghanistan.”

During his speech, Doggett called for fewer troops on the ground in Afghanistan. He said: “(U)nless we pursue a different approach, with a narrower military footprint and a pragmatic exit strategy, we will remain embroiled in a land that has entrapped so many foreign powers throughout the centuries.”

It is good to see Doggett continuing to be persistent about this.