Sen. Tom Udall Reports in from Afghanistan Trip

At noontime today, I participated in a press conference via phone with Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), who is visiting Afghanistan on a fact-finding mission. He's traveling with other members of Congress -- Senators Tom Carper (D-DE), John Ensign (R-NV), Scott Brown (R-MA) and Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA). The delegation will return to the United States on Sunday. Udall said they would be visiting another country before then but didn’t name it.

It was very late in the South Asia time zone, and Sen. Udall seemed rather tired after what has no doubt been a whirlwind schedule. His voice sounded grainy, as one would expect it to be when someone's spending time in a high desert region. Sen. Udall asked that questions posed to him be brief and not involve detailed policies matters, since he's still in the region and gathering information. He said he'd talk more about his findings when he returns and can absorb what he's experienced.

Senator Udall reported that he's been meeting with our ambassador and diplomatic staff, President Hamid Karzai, his ministers and other Afghan leaders, General William McCrystal and his staff, NATO personnel, civilians who volunteered to serve in Afghanistan in areas like agriculture and men and women stationed in the military -- including some from New Mexico.

What is Afghanistan Like? 
I asked Sen. Udall about his overall take on the general condition and feel of Afghanistan right now, given that most Americans have little knowledge of what it's like there. He said, first and foremost, it's obvious that it's a very poor country. The average family earns only $200 to $300 a year, and many families are large. It's common to have 10 people in one family. In flying over areas and being on the ground, he said it's obvious that Afghanistan is a very agricultural nation. There is a significant amount of water, but very little infrastructure to distribute it where it's needed.

He visited an area across the mountains from Kandahar, where Afghans were clearly still appreciative of USAID water infrastructure projects installed in the 1950s that are still in operation and make their lives easier. Sen. Udall seemed very interested in this kind of development and what it can achieve in terms of gaining the trust and respect of the people.

Sen. Udall said he found the Afghan people he met to be friendly, although he couldn't enter many areas or fly over them without very heavy security. In the air, they were accompanied by two Blackhawk helicopters and an Apache fighter helicopter, for instance. When they traveled by land, they were surrounded by a security convoy.

Briefings
Sen. Udall said he was briefed by our very knowledgeable U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, who previously served as the military coordinator in Afghanistan, and spent an hour talking with President Karzai. He also had meetings with Karzai's ministers for Defense, Intelligence, National Security, Health, Agriculture and Finance. He met with General William McCrystal and other U.S. military officers about strategy and tactics, as well as NATO leaders, who discussed how the various military forces were cooperating in their missions.

Udall said he received detailed, personal reports about the effectiveness of the overall mission and strategy in Afghanistan, and the challenges that remain. He views this kind of on-the-ground communication as invaluable in forming accurate assessments of where we are and where we are headed.

The Senator also had a chance to interact with some U.S. troops, as well as civilians working on various development projects in Afghanistan, and said he was very impressed with them and how they are dealing with very difficult circumstances. He stressed that he found their morale to be very good.

President Karzai
In response to a question about recent reports of statements critical of the U.S. by Afghan President Karzai -- including that he might join with the Taliban -- Sen. Udall said Karzai denied making the remarks and explained that the reports came from a cabinet meeting where his statements had been misconstrued. Udall said he had to take him at his word.

Sen. Udall said his main priority in meeting with President Karzai was to impress upon him the critical importance of instituting good government practices and eliminating corruption at all levels. He explained that Karzai has an enormous amount of power, including the authority to appoint government officials at every level, even down to what we would call the county level. He also emphasized to Karzai that our counterinsurgency efforts must work hand in hand with his government. Udall said he urged Karzai to communicate with the American people to clear up misunderstandings and nurture trust in his partnership with us -- perhaps in the form of an in-depth interview with an American journalist.

New Mexicans Serving in Afghanistan
The Senator said he had an opportunity to meet several New Mexicans serving in the military in Afghanistan, including two plane security officers on his flight from Kabul to Kandahar who are out of Holloman AFB. He also met a Sgt. Reyes based at Ft. Bliss who explained agriculture projects on the other side of the mountains near Kandahar. He brought the New Mexicans some pinion coffee, as well as red and green chile beef jerky. He said their eyes lit up when they saw it and, of course, they wanted to talk about New Mexican food and how they missed it. Udall said he was going to call their parents when he gets back home.

Still Skeptical
Sen. Udall said he was still skeptical about the troop build up and the conduct of the war in Afghanistan, but wouldn't discuss that further until he returns.

Main Purpose of Trip: Oversight
Asked whether he would report to the President about his findings upon his return, he said he would if he were asked, as he had been when he traveled to the region during the Bush administration. However, he stressed that the main purpose of the trip was to gather information to help the Congress make decisions about the war going forward. He said there's nothing like on-the-ground experience to gain first-hand knowledge, and that the troops he met were very appreciative of the visit from the Congressmen.

Sen. Udall emphasized the importance of the visit to get the facts that will help him meet his responsibilities for making decisions on war funding and performing Congressional oversight of the mission. He noted that additional war appropriation bills will be considered this spring and summer and a number of important votes are coming up. He explained this trip will help him do his job better and make careful, informed decisions based on his own observations and frank meetings with those conducting the mission.

Bi-Partisan Mission
Asked about how things were going among the bipartisan group on the trip, Udall said it helps to be out of DC and its toxic partisan environment. He said they all are well aware of the importance of the trip, and that knowledge prompts them to work together to gather the facts.

Opium Trade
Sen. Udall said he was briefed about the strategy being used to counteract the widespread opium poppy trade in the region, but that he couldn't reveal more right now.

Average Afghan Citizens
In answer to a question about what the average citizen in Afghanistan feels about the war, Udall said he didn't get a chance to meet many due to security concerns. He said he did meet some leaders in agricultural regions who were pretty happy with the support they were getting from the U.S. and coalition forces that allowed them to work their crops in relative peace. However, he said they were bracing for increased violence from May through September, the traditional time that fighting erupts.

Valuable Opportunity
I found the conversation with Sen. Udall fascinating, providing a valuable opportunity to hear his initial impressions of the status of our efforts in Afghanistan. Previous to the conference call, Sen. Udall's destination hadn't been revealed except to say that it was somewhere in South Asia. I look forward to learning more about his views when he provides a more detailed and in-depth analysis after he returns to the states next week. There is so much at stake.