Be the Media: Raise the Profile of the Afghanistan Withdrawal Bill

Rep. Jim McGovern (above), Rep. Walter Jones and Sen. Russ Feingold introduced legislation in the House and Senate recently that would require President Obama to establish a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Please help educate Americans about Representative McGovern's bill establishing a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the importance of a withdrawal timetable by sending a letter to your local newspaper.

Your letter is more likely to be published if it's short (less than 200 words), uses your own words, and refers to an article or opinion piece that has appeared recently in the paper. You can use the sample talking points below to help compose your letter.

You should also check to see whether your Representative is already a cosponsor and take this into account when writing your letter. You can do this here: current cosponsors of H.R. 5015. There are currently no cosponsors of the Senate resolution.

Step 1 - Select a Recipient

Letter to the Editor

The Letter to the Editor Section is one of the most widely read sections of the newspaper and can reach a large audience. It allows community members to comment on the way issues are being addressed in the media and to influence the topics the local paper may choose to cover. Elected officials often monitor this section of the newspaper and take notice of constituents' opinions.

We've made it easy for you to contact your local newspaper with your views, but editors want to hear from you in your own words.

Look for papers within miles of zip code

Step 2 - Write your message





Click on a point to add it to the letter.
  • U.S. officials concede there is no prospect of military victory over the Afghan insurgencies, and eventually there will need to be a negotiated political agreement with the leaders of the insurgencies to end the war. It's almost certain that an agreement that ends the war will require the U.S. to agree to a timetable for U.S. military withdrawal.

  • In November of last year, President Obama mentioned a starting date for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan: July 2011. But, as Administration officials have clarified, this is not a hard-set date to begin, and entails no end date. A bill recently introduced by Representative Jim McGovern would change that: it would require the President to establish a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

  • Many Americans are concerned that the government isn't doing enough to reduce unemployment. Others are concerned that new government spending to boost employment will add to the nation's long term debt. But shortening the war in Afghanistan by a year would pay the two-year cost of the Local Jobs for America Act, which the House Education and Labor Committee says would create and save a million jobs.

  • Our Representative and Senators should support the McGovern-Jones bill, H.R. 5015, and Senator Feingold's bill, S. 3197, and support the establishment of a timetable for U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.