Marco Rubio Updates Florida on War from Afghanistan

The phone connection was a little shaky fromhalf a world away -- the call even dropped off once. But Monday morning, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wanted to phone in and give Floridians an update on what he's seeing firsthand with the war efforts in Afghanistan.

Florida's newest senator is nearing the end of a nearly weeklong visit to the region where he's watched military exercises and visited with everyone from top officials in Pakistan and Afghanistan to people in the street markets.

"The progress is real and it's steady," Rubio told reporters on a conference call. But that optimism is tempered by major challenges, from training operations to the perception of the United States' resolve.

"Everywhere we went here, from the market that we walked out in the streets, to the Afghan authorities -- all the way up to the president, even in Pakistan -- we heard repeatedly that it is important that the U.S. is committed to seeing this through," Rubio said.

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