Republican presidential candidates had mixed reactions to President Obama?s speech announcing he plans to drawdown 33,000 troops by the end of next summer.
Tim Pawlenty, positioning himself as the candidate who is willing to continue the war, called the speech ?deeply concerning? in an interview on the O?Reilly Factor on Fox News.
Toward the middle, Mitt Romney gave a somewhat non-committal answer to the plan, saying he wants to hear more from military leaders on the ground.
?We all want our troops to come home as soon as possible, but we shouldn?t adhere to an arbitrary timetable on the withdrawal of our troops from Afghanistan,? Romney said in a statement. ?This decision should not be based on politics or economics. America?s brave men and women in uniform have fought to achieve significant progress in Afghanistan, some having paid the ultimate price. I look forward to hearing the testimony of our military commanders in the days ahead.?
And Jon Huntsman reacted most positively to Obama?s directive, as he seeks to tack a more moderate position on foreign intervention.
?Now it is time we move to a focused counter-terror effort which requires significantly fewer boots on the ground than the President discussed tonight,? Huntsman said in a statement. ?We need a safe but rapid withdrawal which encourages Afghans to assume responsibility.? (Obama calls for surge troops drawdown by next summer)
Republicans who want to be calling the shots on foreign policy from the White House were not the only ones with reactions to the speech. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Twitter he is worried about possibly undermining ?a very successful strategy.?
?The president accelerated withdrawal in 2011/12 that could compromise our ability to maintain the gains we fought so hard to achieve,? said Graham, who visits Afghanistan every three months.
Graham also said he supported General David Petraeus, Afghanistan commander of U.S. and NATO forces, whose name was not mentioned in the speech.
?If General Petraeus? judgment was overruled in a substantial way, I think that is a huge mistake,? he wrote.
Arizona Sen. John McCain, ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, also weighed in.
?If we pull out too soon, I think the consequences will the blood of American troops,? McCain said on Fox? Hannity. ?It?s obvious, it?s widely known, that Gen. Petraeus objected to this proposal.?
?I think the president is taking an unnecessary risk with what he?s doing. I?m very, very disappointed, and I hope that I?m wrong,? he said.
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