Loebsack 'cautiously optimistic' about Afghanistan

"Cautiously optimistic" is as far as 2

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District Rep. Dave Loebsack would go in assessing the situation in Afghanistan after a recent visit there.

Loebsack, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, co-led a visit to Afghanistan June 30 to July 3 that included meetings with the new U.S. commander there, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, as well as President Hamid Karzai and opposition presidential candidates.

He saw some progress on his fourth visit to Afghanistan, but said Wednesday U.S. operations there are far from being completed.

"I'm not sure that anyone at this point is anything beyond cautiously optimistic," Loebsack, a Mount Vernon Democrat, said.

The Obama administration has recommitted to Afghanistan after the Bush administration "took its eye off the ball," Loebsack said. "We lost a lot of ground and the Taliban was able to reconstitute themselves in the south and the west.

"We're not starting from square one, but we're back to where we were in 2003 or something like that," Loebsack said.

He's encouraged by Obama administration's recommitment to Afghanistan, including ordering an additional 21,000 troops there to bring U.S. strength to about 68,000 by the end of the summer.

It will take more than higher troop numbers to be successful in Afghanistan. It's the fourth poorest nation in the world -- the average per capita income is about $800 a year, less than 30 percent of the population is literate and the nation has limited natural resources.

"Clearly the recommitment has to be there and has to be beyond the military," Loebsack said. He wants the Departments of State and Defense to work together, possibly involving other agencies, such as Agriculture, to help the Afghan people raise their standard of living.

Loebsack U.S. military presence will continue to be important in Afghanistan, but he doesn't want it to be indefinite. He voted for an amendment calling on the Obama administration to provide an Afghan exit strategy by year end.

"I'm going to hold this administration as accountable as I did the Bush administration," he said.

Stepped up military activity in recent days and the troop build-up mean Iowa members of the National Guard and Reserves may be called to active duty again, Loebsack said. He hopes to use the Defense Appropriations Act to get funding to properly equip the Guard in Afghanistan and Iraq as well at home.