Rep. Buck McKeon (CA) wrote an op/ed today with Democrat Rep. Ike Skelton (MO). Please see an excerpt of "Don't Withdraw Troops Prematurely":
The president rightly committed us to a counterinsurgency strategy designed to separate the Afghan people from the threats of the Taliban. Just as important, he announced that the top military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, would get the 30,000 additional U.S. troops needed to implement this new strategy. These combat troops, combined with those already there, will allow our military and civilian personnel to partner with Afghan counterparts to reverse the momentum of the Taliban and create conditions needed for governance and economic development.
Even with a fraction of these reinforcements so far, we see signs of success. U.S. coalition and Afghan military forces — at the request of Helmand province’s governor — launched Operation Moshtarak on Feb. 12, focused on Marja, a town of approximately 50,000. This relatively flat expanse of farmland, crisscrossed by canals and dotted with small mud-brick compounds, became a hub for the Taliban and the insurgency after U.S. Marines drove them from nearby Garmser in April 2008.
Despite continuing challenges in Marja, the Afghan government officially installed Abdul Zahir Aryan as the town’s new administrator on Feb. 25 and raised the Afghan flag — signaling to residents the central government’s commitment to the people there.