Loughlin Goes to War with Cicilline Over Afghanistan
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The battle for the First District Congressional seat moved overseas yesterday as Republican John Loughlin took aim at Democrat David Cicilline for urging a withdrawal from Afghanistan within months.
“My opponent David Cicilline wrote an op-ed for the Huffington Post yesterday arguing to bring the troops home as soon as possible, regardless of the situation on the ground,” Loughlin said. “This is a recipe for disaster and would hand radical Islam jihadists a massive victory that would fuel terrorism for years to come.”
In his op-ed, Cicilline, who is mayor of Providence, urged President Obama to reduce troops in Afghanistan sooner than his own deadline of July 2011.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCicilline Says War Funds Should Be Spent at Home
Cicilline said the $100 billion the U.S. will spend on the war effort this year is “not being used as efficiently or effectively as it could.” As much as 70 percent of the money meant for rebuilding the country is being diverted elsewhere while the terrorist bombings have surged by 94 percent in the first four months of 2010, Cicilline claimed.
Loughlin accused Cicilline of calling for an earlier withdrawal for political reasons.
“David Cicilline's far left views may make him a hero with liberal activists, but they contradict the best thinking from our military leaders and undermine support for our men and women in uniform – ultimately making America more vulnerable to a terrorist attack,” Loughlin said.
The Cicilline campaign yesterday did not respond to those criticisms, only saying that drawing down troops would free up money for domestic projects. “It is time to start spending the money on the problems we face here at home,” Cicilline said in a statement. His campaign declined to elaborate.
Spending more money at home has been a key plank of Cicilline’s campaign. In fact, he launched his campaign at the site of the structurally deficient Hamlet Avenue Bridge in Woonsocket, which he said illustrated the need for a national “infrastructure bank.”
“We’re rebuilding brides, roads, schools, water systems halfway around the world,” Cicilline said. “We have bridges, roads, schools, water systems in this country that are crumbling.”
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