U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter released the following statement in response to the President's Afghanistan troop drawdown announcement: "I believe it's time to begin to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. I have consistently said we took our eye off the ball by going into Iraq when we should have been focused on Afghanistan. Since 2009, the President has made the effort in Afghanistan a priority and we are seeing real results of this refocus including the death of Osama Bin Laden and many key Al Qaeda operatives.
Ultimately, the future of Afghanistan lies in the hands of the Afghan people. I strongly support transferring responsibility for the safety and security of the country to the Afghanistan security forces. I would like more of our troops to come home sooner, but the drawdown must be responsible and provide for the security of our troops and the gains we have made."
