U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan spent the last two days in Afghanistan talking to commanders and troops, the U.S. ambassador Karl Eikenberry and President Hamid Karzai.
Her impressions after visiting two of the country's most dangerous provinces, Kandahar and Helmand, were that U.S. troops are doing a great job under harsh conditions, reports Lynn Bonner.
"They're definitely committed to what they're doing," she said in a Memorial Day conference call with reporters.
Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, went to the Middle East with a contingent of other senators on her first overseas trip since taking office.
One of the challenges for the U.S. is to convince the Afghan people "we aren’t going to desert them," Hagan said. "They don't support the Taliban at all. We need to convince them that the Afghan government can provide a peaceful life."
It will take time to develop leaders in a country that has endured three decades of war, Hagan said.
The senators met Karzai at his palace, Hagan said, where the president was very warm and receptive.
Earlier this year, President Barack Obama ordered more troops to Afgahnistan, including 4,000 from the 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg to train Afghan forces. About 300 Marines from Camp Lejeune left for the country last week.
Karzai told the senators that the "extra troops were very important," Hagan said, and that "he needs civilians to help rebuild infrastructure in his country."
The senators told Karzai of their concerns that he fight corruption in his country and look to build national leadership from people of all tribes and ethnic groups.
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