HOUSE Republican Leader John Boehner

Washington, Nov 2, 2009 - Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement today after Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission announced that a run-off election in that country will be unnecessary:

“Now that it is clear that President Karzai will remain in office, the White House has no further pretext for delaying the decision on giving General McChrystal the resources he needs to achieve our goals in Afghanistan. Delaying the decision puts our men and women fighting there in greater danger every single day. General McChrystal has been clear: without timely reinforcements our efforts to deny al Qaeda and the Taliban a safe haven in Afghanistan may well end in failure. In March, the President outlined a counter-insurgency strategy, and I support that strategy. It’s time to do what is necessary to make that strategy work. There are no more excuses. It’s time for the Obama Administration to give our commander on the ground the resources he needs to protect our troops and achieve the goals the President has said he supports.”

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NOTE: In March 2009, President Obama outlined a new counterinsurgency strategy to secure Afghanistan – which he has called the central front in the war on terror – against a radical terrorist threat. The goal was to deny al Qaeda and the Taliban a safe haven from which to plan and execute more attacks on Americans and our allies.