This just in from D.C. correspondent Les Blumenthal.
“This is ground zero for al-Qaida,” Smith said. “They are still there, they are still plotting against the West. We have to deal with that threat. As much as we would like to avoid it, we can’t.”
Smith’s comments came as the Pentagon worked on a new military strategy for Afghanistan and the White House, in the next few months, will have to decide whether to deploy additional troops. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, has said the situation is “serious,” but the war is still winnable. McChrystal has not said how many additional soldiers he will ask for, but such a request is considered likely.
The United States and NATO have more than 100,000 soldiers deployed, including the 3,900-member 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division and other units from Fort Lewis. Obama has already boosted U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan by 21,000 since taking office.
There is growing unease among Democrats about the course of the war. But with health care dominating the political landscape, the war in Afghanistan has received only scant attention.
As a member of the House Intelligence Committee and the chairman of the House Armed Service subcommittee that oversees special operations forces, Smith has become a rising force in national security issues on Capitol Hill.
“In many cases people want to believe we can painlessly pull out of there,” Smith said. “This is not Iraq. Iraq never had the Taliban.”
The congressman said the Taliban provide “aid, comfort and support” to al-Qaida.
But the Taliban has little support among the Afghan people, who remember their harsh treatment when they were last in power, Smith said.
“The Afghan people hate the Taliban,” Smith said, but adding the Taliban “fill the vacuum’ as the government of President Hamid Karzai struggles to gain control and provide security.
Smith on a trip sponsored by his Terrorism and Unconventional Threats subcommittee, said he and two other congressmen met with McChrystal and his staff, other military leaders, the U.S. ambassadors, members of the Afghani parliament, cabinet-level Pakistani officials and other diplomats.
Smith warned against unfounded comparisons to Vietnam or even to previous foreign involvement in Afghanistan.
The Taliban are not nearly as popular with the people of Afghanistan as Ho Chi Minh was with the Vietnamese, he said.
“He was going to win and we were on the wrong side,” Smith said. “The Taliban are on the wrong side in this war.”
The British, Soviets and other foreign nations sought to conquer Afghanistan to use it as an “economic outpost,” Smith said. The U.S. just wants to block al-Qaida from gaining a safe haven and withdraw as soon as possible, the congressman said.
“We don’t want to occupy or control it,” he said.
The current dispute over the presidential election in which Karzai has been accused of electoral irregularities is a setback for the United States, said Smith. But America needs to be careful not to pick sides or pick winners, he said.
Smith said he wants to see what McChrystal recommends before deciding whether he would support sending additional U.S. troops.
Les Blumenthal: 202-383-0008
lblumenthal@mcclatchydc.com