The online activist group MoveOn.org, which experienced its most explosive growth when it emerged as a focal point for opposition to the war in Iraq, has been criticized for failing to adopt an anti-war position with regard to the increasingly deadly and ineffectual U.S. occupation of Afghanistan.

That criticism came from many quarters, but especially from Madison's John Stauber, the former director of the Center for Media and Democracy, and from this newspaper. We found it unsettling that MoveOn, a group with roots in the anti-war movement that developed under a Republican president, would seem to back away from holding a Democratic president to account.

Frankly, we expected more of MoveOn.

And we are happy to report that, as President Obama ponders a wrongheaded move to expand the occupation of Afghanistan, the 4.2 million member group has stepped up with a statement supporting an exit strategy.

In a recent online e-blast to activists, MoveOn organizers argued against the deployment of more U.S. troops to Afghanistan and for the development of "a clear exit strategy."

Noting the current debate over whether to increase the U.S. troop presence, the MoveOn organizers argue, "The hawks are making their position heard. Now, the majority of Americans - those of us who are for as quick and as responsible an end to the war as possible - need to make our voices heard, too."

The group asks: "Can you write to the White House and tell them we need a clear exit strategy - not tens of thousands more U.S. troops stuck in a quagmire?" And, of course, it provides a link to do so.

MoveOn's stance remains a cautious one that tends to defer to Obama, who has sent mixed signals about the extent to which he wants to extend the occupation. But the group is moving in the right direction.

What's needed now is a concerted campaign to establish a flexible timeline for bringing the troops home, along the lines suggested by Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold.

A key step in that direction has been proposed by Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern, who has now attracted 99 co-sponsors (including Wisconsinites Tammy Baldwin and Steve Kagen) for House Resolution 2404, which would "require the secretary of Defense to submit a report to Congress outlining the United States exit strategy for United States military forces in Afghanistan participating in Operation Enduring Freedom."

McGovern argues that "an escalation of American military forces (in Afghanistan) would be a mistake and would not solve the many problems and challenges of that country."

Progressive Democrats of America, an activist group that has taken the lead in the fight to end the occupation of Afghanistan, is rallying support for McGovern's position - and his legislation.

Says PDA:

"Remember the many failed attempts to pass legislation requiring an exit strategy for Iraq during the Bush administration? We cannot allow the Afghanistan and Pakistan conflict to follow the same course in Congress during the Obama administration. It has the capacity to be an even bigger quagmire than Iraq.

"Military spending is the most inflationary kind of spending we indulge in, and our economy is on the ropes in large part because of the debt we incurred to wage war in Iraq. We simply cannot afford another long drawn out conflict, neither can we afford the deaths and injuries of our troops nor the indiscriminate casualties among the civilian populations in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

We agree. And we are glad that MoveOn, a group with a strong presence in Wisconsin, is coming around to the proper stance - bring the troops home - on Afghanistan.

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