By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff  Writer
roarty@politicspa.com

U.S. Senator Arlen Specter said Tuesday night he opposes President Barack Obama’s plan to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, saying he is “not persuaded it is indispensable in our fight against Al Qaeda.”

“If it was, I would support an increase because we have to do whatever it takes to defeat Al Qaeda since they’re out to annihilate us,” Specter said in a statement issued about an hour after the president addressed the nation about his decision. “But if Al Qaeda can operate out of Yemen or Somalia, why fight in Afghanistan where no one has succeeded?”

The senator, who faces Democrat U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak in what will be be a hotly contested primary, said he disagrees that the country will be able to transfer responsibility to Afghanistan after 18 months and that NATO will make a “significant contribution.”

“It is unrealistic to expect the United States to be out in 18 months so there is really no exit strategy,” Specter said. “This venture is not worth so many American lives or the billions it will add to our deficit.”

Specter has tried to use Afghanistan to outflank Sestak’s left wing, one of the rare opportunities for the former Republican to position himself as more liberal than his Democratic opponent. He had been indicating for weeks he was wary of any troop increase, although disagreeing with the president, whose support is crucial to his re-election hopes, on such a major policy issue might raise the eyebrows of some observers.

UPDATE 10:15 p.m.: Sestak officially endorsed the president’s troop increase, bringing him in direct contrast Specter.

“President Obama has presented a plan that will allow us to finally complete a mission that is as indispensable today as it was eight years ago: the elimination of the Al Qaeda terrorists who struck us on 9/11,” Sestak said in a statement. “It is a difficult decision. After years of war and with economic challenges at home, the American people are justified in their concern about an increased commitment in Afghanistan.

“But the President has made the right call,” he said. If we leave Al Qaeda behind in a safe haven and are struck again, what can we ever say to those we swore to protect?”

Tags: Arlen Specter, Joe Sestak

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