Marshall opposes more troops for Afghanistan

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http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/columnists_blogs/dome/story/238289.html

Democratic Senate candidate Elaine Marshall said she opposes President Barack Obama's move to send additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

"I acknowledge that there are no easy answers in Afghanistan and I respect the time and consideration that the president took in making his decision," Marshall said in a statement. "I disagree that now is the time to commit 30,000 additional men and women to prop up a corrupt government that has shown no real effort to reform itself.

"The mission that we are about to undertake has too much to do with building a nation that has not had a stable or responsible government in decades and too little to do with keeping us safe at home," said Marshall, the secretary of state.

In opposing the Afghanistan buildup, Marshall appears to be trying to position herself to the left of former state Sen. Cal Cunningham of Lexington, an Iraq war veteran, who was recruited into the race by Washington Democrats...