Dems say new Afghan strategy working
By J. Taylor Rushing
Posted: 05/25/09 03:18 PM [ET]
Five members of the Senate's new majority used Memorial Day to give an upbeat report from a congressional delegation trip to Afghanistan, telling reporters that the Obama administration's new U.S. strategy is working in the war-scarred country.
Democratic Sens. Tom Carper (Del.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Kay Hagan (N.C.), Mark Begich (Alaska) and Mark Udall (Colo.) spoke by conference call from an undisclosed stop in Asia -- Carper, the most senior senator on the trip, said they were prevented from announcing their exact location -- and gave a consistently upbeat report on the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan that began with 17,000 new troops sent there by President Barack Obama this winter.
All five senators are members of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, while all but Carper and Shaheen are on the Armed Services Committee. Shaheen is the only one of the five on the Foreign Relations Committee. The trip was dominated by the Senate's Democratic newcomers -- Shaheen, Hagan, Begich and Udall were all elected in November.
Carper, noting that the seeds of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were sown by the Taliban in Afghanistan, said America “took our eye off the ball” by instead invading Iraq, diverting energy and resources and in doing so “let the people of Afghanistan down.” He said the U.S. must stick to a comprehensive strategy that pays attention to Afghanistan’s civilian population and government, not just the military, and to reach out to other segments of the country as well, such as convincing farmers to grow crops such as vegetables instead of opium.
Carper also said Obama’s decision to send more troops to Afghanistan was the right one, especially when combined with a civilian outreach.
“If that’s all we do, it’s not going to be enough,” he said.
The senators said they were “cautiously optimistic” that the new U.S. focus on the country will succeed more than similar efforts in Iraq, but noted that it will take concentration and focus on the country’s civilian side, such as bolstering its government and police force.
Where the U.S. has been bogged down and “distracted” in Iraq, Afghanistan has languished, and the senators said the new focus there should pay bigger dividends since the country is the real “central front” in defeating terrorism.
“This is a second chance for us to get the situation in Afghanistan right,” said Shaheen. “Our goal is to turn this country back over to the Afghans.. It’s going to have some effect if we stick with it.”
Likewise, Udall said the U.S. can “learn from its mistakes” in Iraq, paying heed also to what history shows in how countries can be gradually won over.
“There’s too much at risk not to implement a strategy that we’ve implemented in the past,” said Udall. “We’ve just forgotten how to drive a counter-insurgency function… We’ve dusted off what we know from the past.”
Otherwise, the senators said they were surprised by the occasional primitiveness they encountered, comparing the country’s rural landscape to that of the moon, and noting that almost a third of the country is illiterate. Much of the stunted growth, they said, was due to the country’s fate at the center of recent, constant war beginning with the Soviet invasion in December 1979.
“This is a country that has been decimated by 30 years of war and 20 years of no formal education,” Hagan said. “And yet, this is a democracy. There’s going to be an election on Aug. 20 with 7,000 polling places that will be open. It’s important to realize that the people are clamoring for this democracy, and I think the challenge here is just as much civilian as militarily.”
Pressed on their optimism in light of dismal results in Iraq, the senators said they sense the country’s civilian population is less hostile towards the U.S. and more ready to embrace a transformation from domination by the Taliban.
“The Afghanistan people have clearly, clearly encouraged me that the wherewithal, the desire, is here to make it work,” Begich said. “It’s hard to describe unless you’re here… They really want to recognize a path to sustainability.”
Furthermore, Udall said in discussions with military leaders, he was encouraged that most of the discussion centered on the country’s civilian government, and only slightly about military weaponry, for example. Begich, meanwhile, pointed to corruption indictments of the country’s police leaders as evidence that the country is on the right track.
Asked why no Republicans were on the trip, Carper said he lobbied GOP senators for a month and a half but was turned down since Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) took several Republicans on a similar trip earlier this year. Shaheen said it was "disappointing" that more Senate Republicans didn't accept the invitation, although Udall said he believes there is "a lot of unanimity" in the chamber on the U.S. strategy towards Afghanistan, cautioning reporters not to read too much into the trip's membership.
Hagan used the occurrence of Memorial Day to honor three North Carolina-based soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan last week: Chief Warrant Officer Brent S. Cole, 38, Maj. Jason E. George, 38, and 28-year-old 1st Lt. Leevi Baarnard.
thehill.com |
