Bay Area Legislators, Support Groups Weigh In Before Obama's Speech On Troops

DANVILLE (KCBS) - In Wednesday's speech, President Barack Obama is expected to outline a plan to bring 5,000 troops home from Afghanistan this summer and another 5,000 by winter or spring of next year.

This may not be enough to assuage a war weary public, but it's good news for some local military families.

"It has been a long time in Afghanistan," said Peggy Conklin, president of the East Bay Chapter of Blue Star Moms, a support group for families of soldiers overseas. "Blue Star have been supporting the troops since 2001."

KCBS' Holly Quan Reports:

Central Valley Democratic Congressman Dennis Cardoza, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the public is tired of paying higher taxes, while watching police and fire fighters get laid off.

"It's time to start policing the streets of California, versus Kabul and Afghanistan," he said.

Contra Costa Democratic Congressman John Garamendi serves on the House Armed Services Committee. He was one of 57 representatives to sign a bi-partisan letter urging the President to bump up the scope of the withdrawal.

"I think that at the end of 2012 we ought to be down to 25,000 troops and at the end of 2013, 10,000 troops," he said.

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