Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04), Chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, released the following statement in response to President Obama's speech this evening announcing plans to begin the drawdown of United States troops in Afghanistan:

“Like many Americans, I anxiously await the day when we can safely welcome our men and women in uniform home from Afghanistan.  But after visiting our troops in theatre last month and seeing firsthand the progress that has been made, I am especially interested to know how the troop withdrawal timeline announced tonight will affect recent hard-won gains as well as impact our remaining troops left fighting the Taliban.  As Chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, I will be closely exercising oversight of the Administration’s drawdown plan to ensure that that our strategy in Afghanistan has been and will be determined by facts on the ground and the national security interests of the United States, not by political calculations."