April 30, 2008
Giffords wraps up trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
By Daniel Scarpinato
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was scheduled to return Tuesday night from a four-day trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Giffords, a first-term Democrat who represents much of metropolitan Tucson, was part of a five-member, bipartisan congressional delegation that visited the countries – a trip that landed her in Afghanistan the same day as an assassination attempt against Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a military ceremony.
She was en route back to Washington Tuesday night and could not be contacted.
Her staff did not know where she was at the time of the assassination attempt. She was scheduled to meet with Karzai, but a spokesman did not know if the meeting ever took place.
Stops included Kabul and Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Islamabad, Pakistan.
Giffords did meet with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, and with U.S. and middle east military leaders.
She also had dinner Saturday night with members of D-M’s 355th Fighter Wing serving in Bagram. She had planned to deliver letters from their families, as well as 72 jars of fresh salsa, tortillas, chips and hot sauce donated by El Charro Café.
As shown by the attempt on Karzai’s life, the visit comes amid reports of growing violence in Afghanistan and a re-emergence of Taliban forces.
Just weeks ago, Giffords took what is likely her strongest stance on Iraq since being elected in 2006, calling for a phased withdrawal of all American forces and greater attention placed on stabilizing Afghanistan.
“What is going on in Afghanistan is the center front in the war of terrorism,” said Giffords’ spokesman, C.J. Karamargin. “It cannot be allowed to spiral out of the control.”
Public opinion on the U.S. role in Afghanistan runs directly counter to views on Iraq. Sixty-three percent of Americans believe the U.S. made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, according to a recent USA Today/Gallup Poll. In comparison, 65 percent say going to Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11 attacks was the right decision, according to the Pew Research Center.
Giffords serves on the Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees, as well as the Armed Services subcommittees on readiness and air and land forces.
The trip was led by Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash. Other members were Mike Conaway, R-Texas, Mac Thornberry, R-Texas and Bill Shuster, R-Pa.
On previous trips to Iraq, congressional delegations have stayed on military installations.
Click here to read the article on the Arizona Daily Star website
LINKS TO OTHER (NON-U.S.) STORIES ABOUT THE CODEL
http://www.pakistanlink.com
http://www.app.com.pk/en_
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily
http://thepost.com.pk/MainNews
http://news.xinhuanet.com
