WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) released the statement below following a hearing before the Committee to examine the progress in Afghanistan under President Obama’s new strategy:

 

“I am so proud of the brave men and women in uniform who are risking their lives every day to keep our nation safe, and I was very pleased to hear the witnesses at today’s hearing talk about the signs of success we have seen from our warfighters in Afghanistan under President Obama. For too many years, this conflict—which is critical to our nation’s security—was the Forgotten War. It was very reassuring today to hear confirmation of the continued progress we are seeing under the President’s new counterinsurgency strategy as we continue to fix the dramatic shortfalls of the previous administration.

 

“President Obama has tripled the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and has given us, for the first time since the start of the war nearly a decade ago, a real strategy for success. Our military leaders and commanders on the ground have strongly endorsed the President’s plan, and we continue to see an increase in gains made against the insurgency, including the most significant captures to date of Taliban leaders.

 

“We will continue to closely monitor the progress in Afghanistan under the new counterinsurgency strategy to make sure that our troops have all of the resources they need to bring us success and return home quickly.”

 

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