VALDOSTA — U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Georgia) returned from an official trip to Afghanistan late Monday and contacted The Valdosta Daily Times by phone to relate details of his trip, which included meetings with Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in the country.
“The short of it is, they are working providence by providence, hotbed by hotbed, gaining military victories, and rather than just move on, they are passing the baton carefully to the civilian sector. They are really trying to involve Afghans on every step.”
A “major game change” for the conflict, which has been ongoing for eight years, lies in the recent willingness of the Pakistan government to be more helpful.
“Pakistan used to be on the sidelines. They’ve been a good ally but passive. When there’s been a flare up, the Taliban hide in Pakistan, but now the Pakistan government is chasing them out of the safe haven.”
Kingston compares the Taliban to “fire ants” saying, “We clean them out of one area and they move back.”
Kingston says the U.S. military is working to clean up the civilian police force, which is “somewhat corrupt, particularly the local police.” Getting Afghans more engaged in the process, Kingston said, also entails getting Afghan President Hamid Karzai to “clean up his act” in light of the recent election scandal.
“We lost some ground, and we have to win the hearts and minds of the people in Afghanistan. Right now, they like us better than the Taliban, but they are very frustrated with our government and the Karzai government.”
One of the most frustrating issues in dealing with the Afghan government is the open support displayed for the growing of poppies, a flower that is grown to produce opium, from which morphine and other opiates are derived.
“The Afghans make $100 million a year raising poppies. It’s not hidden at all; it’s out in the open and mainstream. The locals, the police, and the governors all make money, so it’s very difficult to go in there and get them to stop.”
Kingston said destroying the crops would destroy any chance at establishing relationships with the civilian population.
“Currently, the U.S. is raising the number of U.S. Department of Agriculture advisors in the country from 14 to 64 and there are also National Guardsmen proficient in agriculture who are all trying to help the locals transition to other profitable markets, but poppy production is still a wild card.”
As for women’s rights, Kingston says if the government can be stabilized enough to reopen the schools, it will increase the country’s illiteracy rate and girls will be allowed to attend school. “There’ve been steps on that, but they’re not as definitive as we’d like to see.” Kingston says the troops he met were fairly motivated and, now that Pakistan is more engaged, “there’s an end in sight. As long as we’re making progress, Americans are willing to hang in there a little longer.”
Kingston traveled with a delegation of congressmen that included members of the Defense Appropriations Committee, of which he is a member, the Military Construction Committee and the Science Committee.
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Related Photos
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Gen. David Hogg, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CTSC-A) deputy commander, speaks to Congressman Jack Kingston along with other representatives about future training plans for the Afghan National Army and Police March 6. Members of the Congressional Delegation participated in a situation briefing on the current training conducted in Afghanistan under CTSC-A. Senior Airman Matt Davis
Discussion
Kingston visits Afghanistan
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