This week, a Senate amendment to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan failed to pass. This amendment could’ve been the end to a war that has dragged on for almost two decades; the longest war in American history.
16 Democrats and 44 Republicans are responsible for the decision made, voting no to the move to withdrawal all U.S. military forces from Afghanistan within a year. There are currently 8,600 U.S. troops occupying the Middle East country.
According to The Hill, the amendment comes as Trump’s withdrawal deal with the Taliban remains precarious as high violence levels persist in Afghanistan. The amendment also comes amid a firestorm in Washington over intelligence showing a Russian military unit offered bounties to Taliban-linked militias to kill U.S. and coalition service members in Afghanistan.
“The pandemic clearly shows that expensive endless wars that cost $6 trillion from taxpayers make Americans less safe as they take funds from critical needs like healthcare,” claims Paul Kawika Martin, senior director for policy and political affairs at Peace Action.
Common Dreams lists the 16 members of the Senate Democratic caucus who voted with nearly every Republican to table the Afghanistan amendment:
- Richard Blumenthal (Conn.)
- Tom Carper (Del.)
- Chris Coons (Del.)
- Dianne Feinstein (Calif.)
- Maggie Hassan (N.H.)
- Doug Jones (Ala.)
- Angus King (Maine)
- Joe Manchin (W.Va.)
- Bob Menendez (N.J.)
- Chris Murphy (Conn.)
- Jack Reed (R.I.)
- Jacky Rosen (Nev.)
- Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.)
- Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz)
- Mark Warner (Va.)
- Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.)
“American voters agree we must end endless wars. After nearly 19 years, over 147,000 casualties and total costs over a trillion dollars, it’s long past time to bring troops home and invest in political, diplomatic, and development tools. Yet, the Senate voted against debating to end the wars,” says Martin.
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