Generals apprise senators

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid took a one-day trip to Afghanistan on Wednesday saying U.S. generals running the front-line war need more help.

"The generals made it pretty clear they need more resources," the Nevada Democrat said in a phone call with reporters. "We have been so focused on Iraq that as we all know Afghanistan has not received the attention and the resources that it needs."

The Senate majority leader headed a group of four other senators on the visit, part of a weeklong trip to central Asia and Europe.

On Afghanistan, "I think all the delegation felt we need to do more," he said, against Taliban forces that have been surging in eastern provinces bordering Pakistan.

Reid said military leaders who met with the senators, including Lt. Gen. David D. McKiernan, who is in charge of NATO forces, were not specific about what is needed.

"They all acknowledged they need more resources but they did not tell us they needed X number," Reid said. "They know that is not the right chain of command."

The trip marked Reid's first visit to Afghanistan. He has been to Iraq once also. He said he left the war-rebuilding nation with a generally positive impression.

Reid said the U.S. government seemed to have learned from mistakes in Iraq in working with the local population. In Kabul, the senators visited a U.S.-funded school where 600 young adults are being taught computer science, carpentry and other skills.

"We are not attempting to win this war with sheer military power," Reid said. "I think what we did not do early on in Iraq we are doing here and it is paying dividends."

The Senate visitors also met with President Hamid Karzai. Reid, who had met Karzai before, said the Afghan leader "is probably the most powerful ruler in the history of Afghanistan, but he does not act like a powerful man. He has a lot of humility and sees a lot of things that need to be done to improve the Afghan government."

"I left him recognizing we have a real partner," Reid said. "I felt comfortable with President Karzai and how he talked so strongly about the American way."

The trip was unannounced and planned with tight security, especially in Afghanistan.

The visit was not disclosed until after the senators had departed Kabul. Reid spoke with reporters by phone at 12:15 a.m. local time, after returning to Kyrgyzstan where the senators had left their spouses.

The group was scheduled to travel to Kazakhstan today and was to return to the United States over the weekend after a stop in Germany.

Other senators on the trip are Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., Bill Nelson, D-Fla., Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J.

Reid has been critical of the Bush administration's handling of the war in Afghanistan, where troops were diverted to fight in Iraq. He told a PBS interviewer in December that the U.S. government "has taken our eye off the prize in Afghanistan. The Taliban is resurgent."

Reid sounded less combative on Wednesday after spending a day on the ground and perhaps reluctant to criticize Bush while on foreign soil.

"It would have been better had we maintained a bigger presence here, and we heard that from a lot of people," Reid said. "We didn't, and we can't undo what has been done.

"I think we are in a good position now," he said. "I don't think it is helpful to go back and talk about what could have happened.

"All the talk is that, yes the Taliban is doing more but the ability to deal with them is also significantly increased."

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.