Momentum in US Congress for the beginning of the end of Afghan war

Mark Weisbrot suggests that the US-led war in Afghanistan will end when a majority of the members in the US House and Senate go on record as favoring a clear timetable for the withdrawal of US troops. Weisbrot's article was included today, April 27, 2010, at: http://www.zcommunications.org/how-wars-are-ended-rebellion-in-u-s-congress-could-mark-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-afghan-war-by-mark-weisbrot

Weisbrot writes that a "rebellion" in congress is happening. He writes:

"...a rebellion is growing in Congress against the war. Wisconsin Democratic Senator Russ Feingold, House Democrat Jim McGovern from Massachusetts, and House Republican Walter Jones from North Carolina have introduced legislation that would require President Obama to establish a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The bill has quickly picked up 29 co-sponsors, and could reach 100 within the next few weeks."

The movement in favor of withdrawal in Congress is being influenced by changes in the larger climate of opinion in both Afghanistan and the US, and probably by sheer economics. Weisbrot points out that in Afghanistan, which will be spending and unsustainable 61% of its projected 2011 GDP for the army and police, a poll sponsored by the US Army found that "94% of Kandahar residents support negotiations with the Taliban, rather than military confrontation."

In the US, Weisbrot writes, "The majority of Americans are against the war, and every week thousands of Americans continue to put pressure on their representatives in Congress...."

If the shift in the US Congress against the war maintiain's its momentum, then, along with pressures from the voters - and with mounting costs and casualties and high unemployment- the "end" of the US-led war in Afganistan may end sooner than we have thought. How great that would be!