"Last night, the President laid out his vision for withdrawal from Afghanistan. I don't agree with his plan. It's time for our troops to start coming home now - and to be out of Afghanistan fully by the end of this year. Afghan security forces must be able stand up and take control of their country, Bin Laden is gone and America simply can't afford this war anymore. We've spent a decade in Afghanistan, and our country has paid tremendous costs: the lives of our young men and women, the sacrifice of our military families and the crippling budget deficits that will burden our children and grandchildren. It's time for our brave troops to come home."  

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) tonight issued the following statement after President Obama's primetime address on his proposal to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.  

"The men and women serving in our armed forces have more than succeeded in accomplishing the mission we asked them to do. They have served honorably and heroically and they should be commended. But, we must remember that we were in Afghanistan to bring Osama bin Laden to justice, to take down the main base of al Qaeda and to remove the Taliban from power.  Bin Laden is dead and al Qaeda's true base of power is now decentralized and in areas like Yemen, Somalia and North Africa; and the Taliban is no longer in charge of Afghanistan.   

"We cannot justify the continued loss of life when we have already lost thousands of men and women in our military, including 71 Iowans since 9/11; we also can't sustain the nearly $10 billion we are spending each month in Afghanistan this year.

"The President is taking the right action in redeploying troops from Afghanistan, but as I and several other senators urged him earlier this month, there should be more troops coming home sooner."

Last week, Harkin joined a bipartisan group of 27 senators in sending a letter to President Obama calling for a shift in strategy in Afghanistan, urging the President to use next month's deadline as an opportunity to begin a "sizable and sustained" drawdown of troops that puts the U.S. on a path toward removing all regular combat troops from the country.

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MOUNT VERNON, IL (06/20/2011)(readMedia)-- The Illinois Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) unveiled a statue June 18 honoring female veterans in Mount Vernon. The statue, which shares the likeness of Illinois Army National Guard Soldier Maj. Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates, was sculpted by Don Morris, a native of Flora. The statue depicts Duckworth standing adjacent to Revolutionary War hero Margaret Ludwig Hays, better known as Molly Pitcher.

"I am proud that America now finally realizes that her daughters are just as capable of fighting for liberty and freedom as her sons," said Duckworth.

In 2004, while co-piloting a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, Duckworth's aircraft was hit by a rocket propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents. The explosion resulted in the loss of both her legs and extensive damage to her right arm. In 2006, the governor appointed her director of Illinois Department of Veteran Affairs, and in 2009 President Obama appointed her to serve as the Department of Veterans Affairs Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs in Washington, D.C.

Many people were on hand for the ceremony, including Congressman John Shimkus of the 19th Congressional District, numerous spectators, and a large contingent from the DAR, of which Duckworth is a member.

"I appreciate the fact that the state of Illinois (has) recognized women's service to the military," said Army Lt. Col. Natalie Northern, commander of the 633rd Theatre Gateway Personnel Accountability Team and a Springfield resident. Northern was deployed to Iraq the same time as Duckworth.

The ceremony was preceded by a parade that led to the Brehm Memorial Library, the site chosen by the DAR to house the veterans' memorial.

The memorial stands as a reminder of both the challenges faced and the strides women have made in the military.

"Women are rarely recognized, and as a woman, it's nice to be recognized," said Hallie Scott of Woodlawn. "It's nice that something big like this happens, (and) a big crowd from all over Illinois came here for people who are fighting for our country."

Duckworth said teamwork unites the country and makes the U.S. stronger.

During the ceremony Duckworth declared, "We are stronger as a nation when all of us participate, when it's not just men or women, or blacks or whites, when all of us participate together."

Photo 1: Photo by Spc. Brian Vorce, 139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment/ Illinois Army National Guard Maj. Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates speaks at the statue unveiling June 18 in Mount Vernon. A statue sharing her likeness was uncovered at the ceremony.

Photo 2: Photo by Sgt. Charlie Helmholt, 139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment/ From left, Richard Groharing, the commander of the Illinois American Legion; Illinois Daughters of the American Revolution State Regent Luanne Frosch Bruckner; Maj. Tammy Duckworth; Mount Vernon Mayor Mary Jane Chesley; Statue Sculptor Don Morris; Statue Architect Brian Edmison all stand before the new statue in Mount Vernon. The statue was unveiled June 18 and honors women veterans.

Photo 3: Photo by Sgt. Charlie Helmholt, 139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment/ Maj. Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates is presented with a miniature replica of the Women Veterans Sculpture by Illinois Daughters of the American Revolution State Regent Luanne Frosch Bruckner and statue sculptor Don Morris. A statue bearing her likeness was unveiled in Mount Vernon June 18. The statue honors all women veterans for their sacrifice.

Story by Sgt. Charlie Helmholt and Spc. Brian Vorce. 139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

For high resolution photos, please contact the Illinois National Guard Public Affairs Office at ngilstaffpao@ng.army.mil

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Bipartisan Group Urges Accelerated Transition of Forces

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today joined a bipartisan group of 27 senators in sending a letter to President Obama calling for a shift in strategy in Afghanistan ahead of next month's announced deadline to begin an accelerated transition to Afghan security forces. In the letter, the senators urge the President to use the deadline as an opportunity to begin a "sizable and sustained" drawdown of troops that puts the U.S. on a path toward removing all regular combat troops from the country.

In their letter, the senators noted that the primary objectives for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan have been largely met - including the removal of the Taliban government that sheltered al Qaeda, the killing of Osama bin Laden and the disruption of terrorist networks allied with Al Qaeda and those who planned the Sept. 11th attacks on the United States. Noting those successes and the ability to pursue counter-terrorism and humanitarian goals without a massive nation-building effort, the senators wrote, "the costs of prolonging the war far outweigh the benefits. It is time for the United States to shift course in Afghanistan."

"We urge you to follow through on the pledge you made to the American people to begin redeployment of U.S. forces from Afghanistan this summer, and to do so in a manner that is sizable and sustained, and includes combat troops as well as logistical and support forces. We look forward to working with you to pursue a strategy in Afghanistan that makes our nation stronger and more secure," the letter reads.

The full text of the letter is below:

June 15, 2011

The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write to express our strong support for a shift in strategy and the beginning of a sizable and sustained reduction of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, beginning in July 2011.

In 2001 the United States rightfully and successfully intervened in Afghanistan with the goals of destroying al Qaeda's safe haven, removing the Taliban government that sheltered al Qaeda, and pursuing those who planned the September 11 attacks on the United States. Those original goals have been largely met and today, as CIA Director Leon Panetta noted last June, "I think at most, we're looking at maybe 50 to 100, maybe less" al Qaeda members remaining in Afghanistan.

In addition, over the past few years, U.S. forces have killed or captured dozens of significant al Qaeda leaders. Then, on May 2, 2011, American Special Forces acting under your direction located and killed Osama bin Laden. The death of the founder of al Qaeda is a major blow that further weakens the terrorist organization.

From the initial authorization of military force through your most recent State of the Union speech, combating al Qaeda has always been the rationale for our military presence in Afghanistan. Given our successes, it is the right moment to initiate a sizable and sustained reduction in forces, with the goal of steadily redeploying all regular combat troops.

There are those who argue that rather than reduce our forces, we should maintain a significant number of troops in order to support a lengthy counter-insurgency and nation building effort. This is misguided. We will never be able to secure and police every town and village in Afghanistan. Nor will we be able to build Afghanistan from the ground up into a Western-style democracy.

Endemic corruption in Afghanistan diverts resources intended to build roads, schools, and clinics, and some of these funds end up in the hands of the insurgents. Appointments of provincial and local officials on the basis of personal alliances and graft leads to deep mistrust by the Afghan population. While it is a laudable objective to attempt to build new civic institutions in Afghanistan, this goal does not justify the loss of American lives or the investment of hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars.

Instead of continuing to be embroiled in ancient local and regional conflicts in Afghanistan, we must accelerate the transfer of responsibility for Afghanistan's development to the Afghan people and their government. We should maintain our capacity to eliminate any new terrorist threats, continue to train the Afghan National Security Forces, and maintain our diplomatic and humanitarian efforts. However, these objectives do not require the presence of over 100,000 American troops engaged in intensive combat operations.

Mr. President, according to our own intelligence officials, al Qaeda no longer has a large presence in Afghanistan, and, as the strike against bin Laden demonstrated, we have the capacity to confront our terrorist enemies with a dramatically smaller footprint. The costs of prolonging the war far outweigh the benefits. It is time for the United States to shift course in Afghanistan.

We urge you to follow through on the pledge you made to the American people to begin the redeployment of U.S. forces from Afghanistan this summer, and to do so in a manner that is sizable and sustained, and includes combat troops as well as logistical and support forces.

We look forward to working with you to pursue a strategy in Afghanistan that makes our nation stronger and more secure.

Sincerely,

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)