Today, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman of the House Armed Services, made the following statement on the White House's new plan for Afghanistan:
“While this new plan avoids a disaster, it is certainly not a plan for success. Given the troubling conditions on the ground in Afghanistan and the other security problems in the region, keeping 9,800 troops there through at least 2016 is necessary to our security interests. What is completely unnecessary, however, is that while the President is extending the troops' mission, he would veto the very legislation that provides their pay, benefits, and the authorities they need to get the job done."
The National Defense Authorization Act passed the House and the Senate with large, bipartisan majorities in early October. The President has vowed to veto this bill that pays the troops, provides them and their families with benefits, and contains landmark reforms to both military retirement and Pentagon acquisition policy. While the legislation gives the President every dollar he asked for defense, he is threatening to take the unprecedented step of vetoing the bill for political leverage to extract additional spending for other domestic programs.
