Barton: Troop morale high in Afghanistan

News Article

By NEAL WHITE
Daily Light Editor

U.S. Rep. Joe Barton called his recent visit to Afghanistan both enlightening and encouraging during a phone interview with the Daily Light earlier this week.

The Congressman from Texas' sixth district returned Monday evening from a two-day fact-finding visit to Afghanistan where he had an opportunity to meet with U.S. troops and military leaders leading the war on terror.

"Militarily, we're in good shape, much better than what I thought," Barton said. "I was very impressed with the morale of our troops and with what our military leaders are doing. We spent two days with the troops and they were all positive and upbeat. From a military perspective, I have complete confidence in our forces and their ability to carry out their mission."

Unlike traditional wars, Barton said the situation in Afghanistan is unique because the U.S. and its allies aren't fighting an organized army.

"This isn't like Vietnam or even Iraq," Barton said. "What our troops are up against are small coalitions of tribal bands with little organization who come down from the mountains and make quick strikes using hit-and-run tactics. It makes it a lot harder to combat. They don't have large numbers or a lot of sophistication.

"It is, however, difficult to combat these bands when they come down and plant IEDs (improvised explosive devises), booby traps and ambush attacks. That's what we hear about in the news over here. What we don't hear about is all of the positive things our military is doing in Afghanistan," he added.

Barton said the biggest obstacle facing Afghanistan is the lack of civilian government.

Following U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, Barton said there has been a concentrated effort to develop a local government working in conjunction with the Afghan military leaders that control each region of the country.

"You have to understand, there is no basic infrastructure anywhere in the country and because of that, people don't have any loyalty to the government," Barton said. "In the present system, they have a military commander in each region with a civilian government head that is equal to the military leader. They have really put a lot of effort into building trust.

"On the military side, I left with a very good feeling but I do have big concerns on the civilian side," he added. "Their system of government is still very much tribal oriented. The roads are terrible and rail is non-existent. When there is electricity, it is made with diesel generators. There are no power plants and in all of Afghanistan there is not one single wasterwater treatment plant or clean water supply. They don't have any of the things we take for granted as part of our daily lives."

Barton said his big concern is whether or not the trust can be built between the people and the Afghan government before the U.S. military begins reducing forces next year.

"Will it be enough to prevent the country from switching back to the Taliban? I don't know," he said. "From what we saw, the Taliban has more local popular support."

With the U.S. expected to begin reducing its military presence in Afghanistan next year, Barton said he expects the U.S. to have a presence in the country for years to come.

"Afghanistan is a very, very poor country. Even in the best-case scenario, we are still going to have to have an aid presence in place," he said. "On the military side, I don't think there is a standing army in opposition, just a lot of small groups in the mountains and rural areas. We may not be too far away from the Afghan army being able to take care of that. The military situation in Afghanistan is much better than what we're led to believe in the national media. From the privates to the generals we visited with during our trip, they all expressed the same optimism they could do the job. Morale is very high among the troops."

Barton said the open question that will be an issue for some time is the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and maintaining Pakistan's support in winning the war on terror.

"If you're going to beat the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, you have to have support in Pakistan," he said, adding there are still trouble spots along the Afghan border with Pakistan.

Though Barton didn't visit Iraq during his trip, he said he believes America's priority in Iraq is to "keep doing what we're doing and get more American investment in Iraq."

Barton returned to the sixth district this week during the Congressional break and will be holding town hall forums with constituents next week.

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