Another way to bring the troops home from Afghanistan

When President Obama announced he was sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in of 2009, he promised that he would begin withdrawing our troops from Afghanistan by July of this year. But he did not say what the size or scope of the withdrawal would be.

We need to speak out as this July deadline approaches to support of a meaningful drawdown and counter those who will inevitably push to continue the occupation.

A bipartisan coalition in Congress led by progressive anti-war champion Barbara Lee is leading the way with a letter to President Obama asking him to order a significant drawdown.

The authors have asked other members of Congress to sign on.

Sign our petition asking your member of Congress to sign on to the Barbara Lee letter supporting a significant reduction of forces in Afghanistan no later than July of this year.

If the White House has not already begun the final deliberations about their course of action with respect to the July deadline, they will do so soon.

We simply cannot wait until the decision is made to make sure our voices are heard.

A large number of signers to Rep. Lee's letter will show the White House that Congress does not have an unlimited appetite for endless war.

And this letter will be particularly impactful because it reinforces a resolution authored by Rep. Lee and passed by Democratic National Committee (the body that writes the platform of the Democratic Party) calling for a "significant and sizable reduction [of U.S. armed forces and military contractors in Afghanistan] no later than July 2011."

The American people also strongly support an accelerated timetable for withdrawal, with 72% of respondents to a recent Gallup poll indicating they support congressional action to "speed up the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan" this year.

Sign our petition asking your member of Congress to sign on to the Barbara Lee letter supporting a significant reduction of forces in Afghanistan no later than July of this year.

While we would like to see stability in Afghanistan and a situation that improves the lives of civilians (particularly women and girls), we recognize that we won't be able to accomplish either through continued military intervention.

The road to getting out of Afghanistan may be long, but this is an opportunity for President Obama to make an important first step.