 George McGovern urges Obama to pull out of Afghanistan and the Middle East. |
Former Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern urges President Barack Obama to pull US troops out of the Middle East.
McGovern, a key Obama supporter, asked the president in a recent posting to reconsider his proposed military buildup in Afghanistan, to withdraw troops and close military bases across the Middle East and to call a 'time-out' on war for five years.
"Mr. President, the bright promise of your brilliant campaign for the White House and the high hopes of the millions who thronged the Mall on Tuesday to watch you be sworn in could easily be lost in the mountains and wastelands of Afghanistan," McGovern wrote in The Washington Post on Thursday.
"Mr. President, the bright promise of your brilliant campaign for the White House and the high hopes of the millions who thronged the Mall on Tuesday to watch you be sworn in could easily be lost in the mountains and wastelands of Afghanistan," McGovern wrote in The Washington Post on Thursday.
Criticizing Obama's plan to transfer troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, the former senator described it as "a near-perfect example of going from the frying pan into the fire".
The World Food Prize laureate urged Obama not to fuel terrorism and incite hatred toward America in the Middle East with shows of military strength and to increase efforts to feed children in impoverished countries.
"This means a prudent, carefully directed withdrawal of our troops from Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and elsewhere… We also need to close down the imposing US military bases in this section of the globe," continued, stressing that the US should minimize, rather than increase its military presence.
The history professor pointed to the failed policies of the British Empire and the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and said that Obama may repeat the past if he implements his plan.
"With belligerent Afghan warlords sitting atop each mountain glowering at one another, the one factor that could unite them is the invasion of their country by a foreign power, whether British, Russian or American," McGovern explained.
McGovern, who along with former Senator Bob Dole, established an international school lunch program through The George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, urged Obama to use capital to fight hunger instead of unnecessary battles.
"It would cost a small fraction of warfare's cost… but it might well be a stronger antidote to terrorism. There will always be time for another war. But hunger can't wait," he said.
At the moment, 34,000 US troops are deployed in Afghanistan. In his first week after taking office, Obama set in motion plans to pull another 30,000 forces out of Iraq and into Afghanistan.
The World Food Prize laureate urged Obama not to fuel terrorism and incite hatred toward America in the Middle East with shows of military strength and to increase efforts to feed children in impoverished countries.
"This means a prudent, carefully directed withdrawal of our troops from Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and elsewhere… We also need to close down the imposing US military bases in this section of the globe," continued, stressing that the US should minimize, rather than increase its military presence.
The history professor pointed to the failed policies of the British Empire and the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and said that Obama may repeat the past if he implements his plan.
"With belligerent Afghan warlords sitting atop each mountain glowering at one another, the one factor that could unite them is the invasion of their country by a foreign power, whether British, Russian or American," McGovern explained.
McGovern, who along with former Senator Bob Dole, established an international school lunch program through The George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, urged Obama to use capital to fight hunger instead of unnecessary battles.
"It would cost a small fraction of warfare's cost… but it might well be a stronger antidote to terrorism. There will always be time for another war. But hunger can't wait," he said.
At the moment, 34,000 US troops are deployed in Afghanistan. In his first week after taking office, Obama set in motion plans to pull another 30,000 forces out of Iraq and into Afghanistan.
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