Plan working, Udall says

Colorado Sen. Mark Udall, in Afghanistan meeting with government officials and American military leaders, said Monday that President Barack Obama's new military strategy in the region is "on the right track."

Under newly appointed Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the military is broadening its focus to include not only hunting down insurgents, but aiding Afghans with better medical care and improving infrastructure, local governing and farming. With more stability and control over their future, Udall said, Afghans would be less vulnerable to to recruitment by insurgents.

"We need to not only take out the bad guys, but stay in the region and insert not just our troops . . . but the Afghan police," said Udall, who arrived in the country Thursday but could not disclose specifically where he was calling from because of security concerns. "We need to clear out the insurgents, hold the ground and build a civil society."

Two months ago, Obama laid out a new plan to fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the region, which includes bolstering the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, boosting the amount of aid Americans give to Pakistan and imposing conditions on those two countries to create stability. McChrystal was brought in to replace Gen. David McKiernan.

Udall sidestepped a question about whether Pakistan had done enough to combat the insurgents, but did say he saw "promising signs" between Pakistani and Afghan officials.

"The Pakistani government and military is seeing that the threat is not India," but rather insurgents in the Swat Valley and other northern parts of Pakistan, Udall said.

Udall, a Democratic member of a Senate Armed Services subcommittee, was joined by four others on his trip: Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del.; Mark Begich, D-Alaska; Kay Hagan, D-N.C.; and Jeanne Shaheen D-N.H.

Udall is expected to return to Colorado later this week.
Denver Post