McCain, Lieberman push Obama to keep fighting for Afghanistan

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on Thursday pushed President Obama to maintain the U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan, months after both had campaigned against Obama during the presidential election.

“Later this month, the Obama administration will unveil a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan,” the two wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post. “Obama’s decision last month to deploy an additional 17,000 U.S. troops was an important step in the right direction, but a comprehensive overhaul of our war plan is needed, and quickly.”

The pair urged Obama to “unambiguously reject” plans to draw down troops in Afghanistan and bend to popular distaste for an enduring war in the country. Instead, McCain and Lieberman wrote, the military should focus on short-term targeted counterterrorism strikes.

“As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama called Afghanistan “the war we must win.” He was absolutely right,” they said. “Now it is time to win it — and we and many other members of both political parties stand ready to give him our full support in this crucial fight.”