Bipartisan Group Of Lawmakers Wants Gen. David Petraeus To Testify On Afghanistan In 2011

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Bipartisan Group Of Lawmakers Wants Gen. David Petraeus To Testify On Afghanistan In 2011
Amanda Terkel
[e-mail] | HuffPost Reporting
First Posted: 12-23-10 04:26 PM | Updated: 12-23-10 04:59 PM

WASHINGTON -- It's the rare issue that unites Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), but the call for Gen. David Petraeus to testify before Congress about the war in Afghanistan has done just that.

Conyers, who chairs the Out of Afghanistan Caucus, sent a letter to President Barack Obama on Thursday, requesting that he make the general available to House lawmakers to speak on the administration's recently released strategic review and conditions on the ground in Afghanistan. The letter has the signatures of 30 other Democrats. From the letter:

We believe that this bipartisan call for oversight is warranted by the uncertain progress being made securing the country, minimizing American casualties, combating corruption, expanding governing capacity, promoting political reconciliation, addressing links between the insurgency and Pakistan, limiting the Taliban's ability to project violence, and furthering other important components of our Afghanistan-Pakistan policy. The limited analysis provided in your December Strategy Review, although important, cannot replace in-depth and substantive congressional hearings and oversight.

Many Members are also concerned about the incredible costs associated with the current policy. The War in Afghanistan is costing the American taxpayer $2 billion per week and will total $125 billion this year alone. Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted this past August that "the most significant threat to our national security is our debt." We need direct access to our lead commander on the ground in order to fully consider the costs and benefits of a policy that is significantly contributing to our $1.5 trillion deficit and $15 trillion debt.

McKeon, who will chair the House Armed Services Committee in the new Congress, has also called for the administration to allow Petraeus to testify next year.