Call to End the War in Afghanistan

Jun 6, 2011

This article appeard in The Seattle Times on June 06, 2011 in print and online.

Potentially influential congressional engagement

Thank you for The Times’ unequivocal call for the end of the exorbitantly expensive, undefined war in Afghanistan [“Broke in Afghanistan,” Opinion, June 2] and the need for stronger Washington state congressional engagement to press for this goal.

As a member of the Quaker lobby in Washington, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, I have visited the offices of Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Rep. Rick Larsen several times asking for their support in ending the war.

They generally agree with the futility of the war, but all seem too compliant in looking to the administration and the Pentagon for direction. We all need to call on our, yes, potentially influential congressional delegation to assume greater responsibility for exiting Afghanistan “sooner than later.”

— Tom Ewell, Clinton