Blog post

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Respond to President Obama's Announcement of a New Strategy in Afghanistan
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on March 27 2009

Today, Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director and Founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the country's first and largest nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, issued the following statement in response to the Obama Administration's review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan: “We welcome the Administration’s renewed focus. For months, Afghanistan has been more deadly to our troops than Iraq, but the media and the public continue to be focused elsewhere. Veterans who served there have often called it ‘Forgot-istan,’” said Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). “As President Obama has noted, troop numbers alone are not a silver bullet.  But in addition to marshalling our economic, political and diplomatic power, we must also increase our efforts on the home front.  President Obama’s plan is a significant increase in the demands on our troops, hundreds of thousands of whom are already veterans of multiple combat tours.  We must ensure that every military family  is supported during this effort, and that every service member receives the resources they have earned when they return home.” 

• To read the text of President Obama's remarks about the new Afghanistan stategy, click here.
• Watch footage of President Obama's speech here.