U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Following a visit to Afghanistan, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., says he remains skeptical about the United States’ role there but is glad he was able to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and members of his administration.
The visit by Udall and four other members of Congress comes as the relationship between Karzai and the Obama administration is being strained. Karzai has recently accused the West of election fraud in Afghanistan. He’s also reportedly threatened to join forces with the Taliban.
Karzai has already denied publicly the reports that told members of parliament he would join the Taliban if the United States and others kept up the public pressure on him to end corruption and electoral fraud. He did so again in the meeting with Udall the other members of Congress, Udall said.
The senator, speaking with New Mexico reporters from an undisclosed location, said Karzai claimed his comments to members of parliament were misconstrued.
“I just take him at his word,” Udall said.
As to what he and the other members of Congress told Karzai: “We were urging him to put good government in place and do everything he can to eliminate the corruption that is a part of their government, to appoint competent local leaders,” Udall said.
The other members of the congressional delegation are Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del.; John Ensign, R-Nev.; Scott Brown, R-Mass.; and Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Virginia. 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.
The Afghanistan trip had not been announced publicly before today’s call.
‘I am still skeptical’
Udall generally refused to speak about policy issues during the interview, though he said he still remains skeptical about the buildup of American troops the president announced in December. At the time, Udall said the strategy in Afghanistan “should be an Afghan-led effort. And with the widespread government corruption we have seen – especially in the recent election – I do not believe we have a reliable partner in this effort.”
“I am still skeptical, and let’s leave it at that,” Udall said today after seeing what’s happening on the ground in Afghanistan. He said he’ll have more to say about that next week after he returns to the United States.
But Udall indicated he still wants to see more from the Karzai government.
Udall said the delegation told Karzai he “should be speaking with the American people very soon about the partnership we’re in” by giving an in-depth interview to an American journalist about “how he intends to partner with us.”
Other meetings
In addition to meeting with Karzai, Udall described meeting with American military leaders and members of the Karzai administration. He said the congressional delegation toured several areas in Afghanistan, always under heavy guard.
The meetings with Karzai’s administration, Udall said, “were very effective in terms of them portraying to us what they’re doing and us being able to ask the most detailed questions we wanted to about what was happening, what progress they’re making, what challenges they’re facing.”
He said it was important to meet with Karzai’s ministers “to assess them one on one. It’s a much different assessment than anything that can be written about.”
Udall also met with American soldiers, including some from New Mexico, and American civilians working on agricultural and economic development issues. He described the morale of both groups of Americans as “good.”
‘There’s nothing like being on the ground’
Udall said such congressional trips are beneficial because “there’s nothing like being on the ground.” He said additional funding bills and other legislation related to the war in Afghanistan will come before Congress.
“I really think this can help me do my job better in that respect,” he said.
Udall said he will be happy to brief President Barack Obama on the trip if asked. When he was a member of the U.S. House, Udall did that with former President George W. Bush following an overseas trip.