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Published Saturday, November 28, 2009 in Local

Westmoreland eats turkey with troops in Afghanistan

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Times-Herald

Congressman Lynn Westmoreland ate his Thanksgiving dinner in Afghanistan, with members of the Georgia Army National Guard.

Westmoreland, R-Grantville, traveled to Afghanistan in a delegation led by Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Also on the trip were Rep. Tom Price, R-Roswell, and Rep. John Barrow, D-Savannah.

The contingent left for Afghanistan on Tuesday, and will return Sunday, said Westmoreland's spokesman, Brian Robinson.

In addition to enjoying a Thanksgiving dinner with the troops, the group met with Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and Karl Eikenberry, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Robinson said.

Westmoreland was invited to go on the trip by Chambliss, Robinson said.

The point of the visit is to talk with military and political leaders and "get a feel for what they are going to need as far as Gen. McChrystal's request for 40,000 troops," Robinson said.

President Barack Obama is set to address the nation Tuesday and is expected to give "his final decision on the way forward on Afghanistan," Robinson said.

The delegation was in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Thursday. Robinson said he thinks they will travel to other locations but, for security reasons, even he was not given the itinerary.

"This trip is to allow him to see what is happening on the ground there," Robinson said. "There are things that you can see on the ground, in a war zone, that reading" stories in books, newspapers, or magazines simply can't do justice, he said.

"It's a chance to see what the troops are facing in that environment, and what the soldier in the field is thinking and seeing out there, as far as progress and setbacks," Robinson said.

"Sitting around the table at Thanksgiving dinner with American troops -- who are obviously anxious to get home and to see their families -- will help him to get more of an unvarnished, unpolished opinion of what is happening every day on the ground," Robinson said.

This is Westmoreland's second trip to Afghanistan, Robinson said. He visited both Afghanistan and Iraq during his first term in Congress.

Westmoreland is in favor of implementing Gen. McChrystal's counterinsurgency strategy, Robinson said.

Counterinsurgency is different from counterterrorism. A counterterrorism strategy targets specific people, and often uses un-manned drones to drop bombs.

A counterinsurgency strategy "requires a much larger footprint," Robinson said.

"What we're seeing is that counter terrorism efforts haven't worked," he said. Counter-insurgency efforts in Iraq, through the "surge," were successful. Enough troops are needed "to provide security to the local population, so they don't feel coerced to aid and abet the Taliban," Robinson said.