Lee Sees Need for More Troops After Afghanistan Visit WASHINGTON, D.C. (wned) - After a quick tour into far corners of Afghanistan, Congressman Chris Lee says there is an opportunity for success in that country but it will take more troops.

Using a succession of C-130 cargo planes and helicopters, Lee and other members of Congress worked their way from Kabul south into territory bordering Pakistan.

"Incredibly beneficial," is how Lee described the trip. "When you're going to make a vote that will ultimately send troops there, you'd better make sure you can look somebody in the eye and tell them that you've been there."

He even walked through a small village where he found Western New York native Scott Dempsey native working for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Dempsey had "only positive things to say about how he's been working with the local people," said Lee. "You're going to get an honest answer from a fellow Western New Yorker."

Lee says he also met with soldiers from this area during his tour. The Clarence Republican says the U.S.-Afghan effort will succeed only if the country can be stabilized and its economy is improved.

He also believes that General Stanley McChrystal needs to make his case for more troops directly to Congress.



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