U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaiçi, today said he supports President Obama’s new Afghanistan strategy, which calls for the addition of 30,000 U.S. troops to the fight by next summer.

Obama today briefed 32 congressional leaders, including Inouye, on his Afghanistan strategy prior to speaking at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Also in attendance were Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The briefing lasted approximately one hour.
Here is the text of a statement released by Inouye:
“I support the president’s plan and I left the briefing convinced that he had presented a good, workable strategy and that it should be supported by all Members of Congress.
“Of the 30,000 additional troops that will be in-country by July of next year, approximately one-third will be non-combatants who will help train Afghan Security Forces and help to prepare the Afghan armed forces and police to assume legitimate control over their nation’s security when we begin to withdraw U.S. troops in July 2011.
“The president conveyed our core mission as follows: ‘We will disrupt, dismantle, and eventually defeat al-Qaida and prevent their return to either Afghanistan or Pakistan. ... We will prevent the Taliban from turning Afghanistan back into a safe haven from which international terrorists can strike at us or our allies.
“I believe our ultimate goal is to leave Afghanistan with security and governance in place that can successfully carry on the activities of a sovereign nation. It would be ill-advised to suddenly leave Afghanistan knowing that chaos would follow. The United States must be able to leave with our heads held high knowing that we have done the best job possible to keep the country intact.
“We must work quickly to secure the country while at the same time training the Afghan Army and police to take legitimate control of Afghanistan’s security when it is appropriate for U.S. and coalition forces to withdraw.
“I look forward to discussing how we will fund this strategy with my colleagues in the House and Senate. We will provide our soldiers all of the resources necessary to complete their mission. At the same time we must also be cognizant of the current economic condition and the cost that taxpayers will bear as a result of a major increase in war funding.
“My thoughts and prayers, as always, remain with the men and women in uniform who are tasked with taking up the fight and with their families back home who hope for their safe return.”