The Stamford Advocate
By Neil Vigdor
STAMFORD - With conditions on the ground in Afghanistan deteriorating and the Taliban resurging, U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Bridgeport, said he plans to visit the war-torn country for the first time in August. "What my military folks are telling me is that we're winning in Iraq and losing in Afghanistan," Shays said yesterday in a meeting with the editorial board of Greenwich Time and The Advocate of Stamford. Shays called on NATO, which is in charge of military operations in Afghanistan, and its European member nations to take on a greater role in the multinational peacekeeping effort. They have more to lose if Islamic extremism is allowed to go unchecked because of their significant Muslim populations, he said. "They want us to be the fighters and they're not willing," Shays said. "They're more on the front line than we are." Shays' comments came days after the release of a Pentagon report on the oft-overshadowed war in Afghanistan, cautioning of Taliban-led resilient insurgency. Insurgent violence increased last year, with the civilian and military death toll from suicide attacks, roadside bombs and combat-related incidents estimated at 6,500, the report said. Shays has visited Iraq 19 times. "I think I know more on Iraq than any other member of Congress," he said. Democrats have widely criticized Shays, a self-proclaimed centrist who is the lone Republican House member in New England, for his support of the war in Iraq and again are targeting him in the November election.
Both Democrats vying to challenge Shays said the invasion of Iraq distracted from the war in Afghanistan and the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "There is no question that the Western military mission in Afghanistan is substantially under-resourced, for which Christopher Shays and others who consistently promoted the war in Iraq bear a great deal of responsibility," said Jim Himes, the Democratic endorsee in the Fourth District congressional race. Lee Whitnum, a fellow Greenwich Democrat who petitioned her way onto the Aug. 12 primary ballot, said she was alarmed by the recent turn of events in Afghanistan and called the invasion of Iraq a huge blunder. "I'm definitely of the mind that we should have never gone into Iraq and that it was a contrived war and a big mistake," Whitnum said. During his most recent trip to Iraq in March, Shays said he was encouraged by what he saw. Tribal leaders are supporting the United States in greater numbers and Iraqi forces have achieved competency, he said. "This is why we can start to bring troops home," Shays said. Shays said he would be comfortable withdrawing 5,000 of the approximately 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq every month until the number reaches 50,000 to 60,000. "I think we've been ready for a while," Shays said, adding that the remaining forces would be kept to deter Iraq's neighbors from meddling in its affairs. Democrats questioned whether the United States. is winning the war in Iraq, however. "While I'm delighted that violence has been reduced, to use the word 'winning' around an effort that is costing us the lives of young men and women every week and $12 billion a month is about as insensitive a characterization as I can imagine," Himes said. Original Article: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/norwalkadvocate/news/ci_9750137 Click here to read more about Christopher's views on the Global War on Terrorism
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