Guest Blogger: Congressman Mike Coffman (R-CO) on the War in Afghanistan

Rep. Mike Coffman / June 18, 2009

Repeating the Mistakes From the Iraq War in Afghanistan

Yesterday, early in the morning, the House Armed Services Committee finished its work on the Defense Authorization bill for 2010. The bill unfortunately falls short is several areas, including a slashing of our missile defense program and a failure to dedicate the resources necessary to prevail in Afghanistan.

I recently took a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan. This was my first trip back to Iraq since having served with the United States Marine Corps in al Anbar province from August 2005 to March 2006. No doubt, I was deeply impressed with the progress that has been made in Iraq and I’m confident that we are now on our way to bringing our direct involvement in that country to a just conclusion. But I cannot say the same thing about Afghanistan. The Obama Administration appears to be repeating the mistakes from early in the Iraq War, with incremental increases and a failure to fully commit the resources necessary to win. (more…)