Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) predicted "great problems ahead" in Afghanistan and Iraq, responding to the death of a United States Army major general in Afghanistan on Tuesday. In the past, Durbin has adamantly called for troops to withdraw from Afghanistan.
"Bring these troops home and let the Afghans deal with the future of their country," Durbin told NBC's Meet the Press in June 2011.
Two months earlier that same year, Durbin said, "I want to see a clear trend line that suggests our American troops are coming home. The longest war in our history has to come to the end."
"If you believe that resolution of this conflict by military means is highly unlikely and not a realistic basis for US policy, how can we send one more American soldier to fight and die in Afghanistan?" Durbin asked in May 2011.
Durbin was speaking with reporters following an event with Illinois Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday.
