Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Leads Congressional Delegation to Afghanistan

Over Memorial Day weekend, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the chairwoman of the House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, led a congressional delegation to Afghanistan and to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Other members of the delegation included Texas Republicans Michael Burgess and Blakem Farenthood, California Democrat Ami Bera and Massachusetts Democrat Joseph Kennedy.

The delegation met with members of the armed forces, President Hamid Karazi of Afghanistan, and State Department and Drug Enforcement Administration officials.

It was an honor to spend time with our brave men and women on the front lines in Afghanistan who continue to courageously serve our nation, Ros-Lehtinen said. We must never forget that our armed forces and their families sacrifice so much to protect our freedoms and root out threats all over the world.

We are entering a very critical transitional phase in Afghanistan and we must continue to work closely with our allies and the government of Afghanistan to improve the security situation within its borders, she added. It is vital that we build upon our investments in the region so that extremism does not unravel all of the important gains we have made on the ground and undermine our national security interests.

I urged President Karzai to ensure that next Aprils elections proceed as planned and are conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner to accomplish a successful transition to a viable successor, Ros-Lehtinen said in conclusion. I also stressed the importance in combating drug trafficking in Afghanistan, which threatens stability in the country and provides an economic lifeline for terrorist organizations to finance their illicit operations. We must be able to guarantee the security and stability of the country as our mission draws down and Afghanistan prepares to take the next step forward, or else it runs the risk of plunging back into chaos.