America is making progress in Afghanistan but probably can't meet President Obama's July 2011 deadline for beginning troop withdrawals, U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster said Monday.
Shuster, R-9th District, visited Afghanistan and other Mideast trouble spots last week with Reps. Brian Baird and Rick Larsen, both D-Wash., and Bob Inglis, R-S.C., on the delegation sponsored by the Department of Defense.
Shuster predicts the recent surge of 30,000 troops will take three years to produce the desired effect, like the 2007 surge in Iraq, where the U.S. recently ended combat operations.
As in Iraq, casualties have spiked, because "we are aggressively going after the bad guys," said Shuster, a member of the Armed Services Committee who met with Gen. David Petraeus, U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the trip.
Unfortunately, the withdrawal deadline has given heart to our enemies, who figure they only need to wait us out, Shuster said, citing reports.
Still, things look better in Afghanistan than they did a year ago, Shuster said, crediting George W. Bush's commitment of "additional resources," the McChrystal plan and Obama's surge.
The Afghan army and police are exceeding recruitment goals, the economy grew 20 percent last year, infrastructure, roads, sanitation, schools and hospitals are improving; streets are "cleaner and neater" and more people are doing ordinary business, he said.
The delegation actually got caught in a traffic jam in Kabul when Ramadan should have curtailed activity, he said.
Nevertheless, corruption remains endemic, said Shuster, who visited Afghanistan for the fifth time.
To his credit, Obama is pushing Karzai on that, but Karzai isn't doing enough - instead blaming the U.S., Shuster said.
As an antidote, the U.S. surge has included a buildup of civilians from the departments of State, Agriculture and Human Services and the FBI, he said.
The "good governance" they're teaching is critical for retaining the faith of the Afghan people, less than 10 percent of whom support the Taliban, he said.
Shuster thinks there's "zero chance" Karzai will quit working with us.
Nor would it make sense for the U.S. to replace him.
"You've got to dance with the person that brung you," he said.
Besides, Karzai won the election.
Still, Americans are growing weary of the war, and Karzai has "only a limited amount of time" to succeed, he said.
Shuster has met with Petraeus several times and has a "relationship there that can lead to a frank discussion," said Shuster spokesman Jeff Urbanchuk, when asked how realistic a picture the trip could have provided the congressman.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.
