Ellison tells Afghans war not a priority in presidential race
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KABUL, Afghanistan - The war in Afghanistan is not a top issue in the U.S. presidential race because of a lack of interest among the American public and the media, a U.S. congressman said during a visit to the Afghan capital Wednesday.
Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., said he believes America's three leading presidential candidates are paying attention to the conflict in Afghanistan but the issue is not garnering wider interest.
"Either because of the public interest or the press, it's not a hot debate item, but I think it should be," Ellison said. "It's clear the focus in the presidential debate is on Iraq policy, but I wish the press would ask more questions about Afghanistan, what could or should be done to make sure Afghanistan's future is secure."
Ellison said he thinks that after the U.S. election in November any of the three top candidates — Republican John McCain or Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — will pay more attention to Afghanistan than has the Bush administration.
Ellison is one of six members of Congress who wrapped up a two-day visit to Afghanistan on Wednesday. The group met with President Hamid Karzai and U.S. Gen. Dan McNeill, the top NATO general in charge of the international military mission here.
Karzai told the group that terrorism continues to be a problem and that Afghanistan was in need of economic development, Ellison said. Karzai also said he supported elevating the status of women in Afghanistan. Most women still wear the all-encompassing burqa and have far fewer rights and opportunities than men.
Ellison is one of two Muslim members of the U.S. Congress. Ellison said religion did not play a role in the trip to the Muslim country.
The other members of the congressional delegation included Barbara Cubin, a Republican from Wyoming; Maurice Hinchey, a Democrat from New York; Betty McCollum, a Democrat from Minnesota; Jim Moran, a Democrat from Virginia; and John Tierney, a Democrat from Massachusetts.
The group heads to Pakistan next to meet with political leaders there.
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Ellison feels he can say whatever he wants because he is protected by an unofficial affirmative action program. He might be … read more right. Interesting to see that at least a few people are starting to lump the Afghan and Iraqi actions together. Interesting because, at least for some time, Iraq was the "bad" intervention and Afghanistan was the "good" one. I think that what we're seeing is that if you wade into a cesspool, you're going to get dirty whether you have the support of the international community (Afgh) or not (Iraq). Personally, I'm not so concerned about what the international community thinks. Iraq was a stupid move, not because Russia opposed it, but because it was unnecessary and overreaching. The intervention in Afghanistan was justified because they were harboring the group that was directly responsible for 9/11. Personally, I think it's time we get out of there also. We've killed as many islamists as possible, but it's questionable whether or not a stable modern state will develop there, even if we stay for the next 20 years. Look, if the women have to wear burkas to the swimming pool, it's not our problem. Ellison is right that Afghanistan is relatively low on the list of priorities in the US election, but he's wrong in that he seems to think it should be otherwise. I don't want it to be an issue period. Let's get out and not worry about it at all. US election issues should be the economy, education, immigration, the environment, health care, etc., not Afghanistan. If Ellison feels solidarity with the Afghans - presumably because of his religion - as someone said earlier, he can get a shovel and start helping out himself.
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