This month, we have a rare opportunity to fundamentally change the course of U.S. policy towards Afghanistan: Senator Russ Feingold, Representative Jim McGovern, and Representative Walter Jones have introduced legislation -- H.R. 5015 in the House and S. 3197 in the Senate -- that would require President Obama to establish a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. military forces. If this legislation attracts enough support, it could reach the House floor as an amendment, allowing Congress a fundamental -- and widely reported -- vote on the direction of U.S. policy.
The key idea of the Feingold-McGovern-Jones bill is straightforward. By January 1 - or within 3 months of the enactment of the bill, if that is earlier - the President is required to submit to Congress a plan for the redeployment of the U.S. military from Afghanistan, with a timetable for doing so. After submitting the plan, the President has to update Congress every 90 days on how the implementation of the plan is going.
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1439/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3035I post this with the knowledge that this war has just passed the 1 trillion dollar mark, and here is what could be purchased for that kind of money:
What Can You Get For $1 Trillion?
* Federal Funding For Higher Education -- $1 trillion would give the maximum Pell Grant award ($5,500) to all 19 million U.S. college and university students for the next 9 years.
* 294,734,961 people with health care for one year, or
* 21,598,789 public safety officers for one year, or
* 17,149,392 music and arts teachers for one year, or
* 7,779,092 affordable housing units, or
* 440,762,472 children with health care for one year, or
* 137,233,969 head start places for children for one year, or
* 16,427,497 elementary school teachers for one year, or
* 1,035,282,468 homes with renewable electricity for one year
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0531/sad-milestone-cost-wars-passes-1-trillion/