Opposing view: Bring our troops home

The U.S. military has now been at war in the mountainous and untamed Central Asian nation of Afghanistan for nearly a decade. It is the longest war in American history. Each week, our expansive combat operations add $2 billion to our national debt.

As the war has dragged on, violence has increased, with last year being the deadliest year of the war to date for coalition forces and Afghan civilians alike. And, far from winning the hearts and minds of the local population, 80% of Afghan men now believe that our military operations are bad for their country.

These are the inconvenient truths of the war in Afghanistan. With each passing day, the reality of this costly nation-building exercise becomes harder and harder to ignore. It is no wonder that recent polls show that only 36% of the American people support the current war strategy.

Luckily, next month, President Obama has a tremendous opportunity to shift the course of the war in Afghanistan. By committing to a sizable and substantial withdrawal of troops, he can signal to the American people, our Afghan partners and the world that the United States will pursue a strategy in Afghanistan that is both smart and sustainable.

Contrary to the claims made by supporters of the current strategy, a decrease in our military footprint would enhance our country's ability to prevent al-Qaeda and other terrorists from using Afghanistan as a safe haven from which to launch attacks against the United States. The recent successful operation against Osama bin Laden in Pakistan shows that you don't need 100,000 troops to hunt terrorists. By shifting our strategy to include a focus on counterterrorism and intelligence gathering, we can pursue the 50 to 100 al-Qaeda who remain in Afghanistan in a far more cost-efficient and effective manner.

Additionally, a significant drawdown of troops will help us bring balance to our competing domestic and overseas needs. By replacing our countrywide occupation with a much smaller force, we can realize savings that will help address our burgeoning national debt and free up funds for nation building at home. Consider that the war in Afghanistan has cost over $423 billion since 2001, but the yearly budget of the group that killed bin Laden — the U.S. Special Forces — was just $10.8 billion this year. Clearly, we can address our national security interests with far less spending and far fewer troops.

The debate about whether to withdraw a substantial amount of troops this July is not about whether we are choosing to "win" or "lose" in Afghanistan; it is about whether our country's response to terrorism is proportional to the scope, location and immediacy of the threats we face. President Obama has made pragmatic problem-solving a hallmark of his administration: I sincerely hope that he will see the value of pursuing a new way forward in Afghanistan and bring our troops home.

Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., is ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee and founder of the Out of Afghanistan Caucus.