Members of the Lynch CODEL in attendance at the meeting were Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT), Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA), Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC).
Congressman Lynch said, "I think it is important that the President has accurate information -- that people are straight with him, brutally honest, regarding the situation in
"Our CODEL had an excellent opportunity to accompany our troops into one of the most violent Sunni neighborhoods of
"I think the President needs to hear exactly how the ‘troop surge’ strategy is playing out on the ground.”
"There were six members of Congress in our group, 3 Democrats and 3 Republicans, and not one member downplayed how dangerous the situation is or how heroic the conduct of our troops is.”
"Similarly, since we also had a chance to travel to the Afghanistan/Pakistan border area near Waziristan where the Taliban threat has been growing, it was important to express our concerns, and the concerns of our men and women in uniform, directly to the President and the Vice President, and their national security staff.”
Lynch concluded, "This is a critical time in
This was Congressman Lynch’s sixth CODEL to
The trip was intended to monitor the recent "surge" strategy in
In Afghanistan, Lynch met with President Hamid Karzai to assess the situation along the tribal areas along the border with Pakistan.
As the Chairman of the House Task Force on Terrorist Financing and Proliferation, Lynch also met with central banking officials from several nations regarding transparency and anti-terrorist financing issues.
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