Hall at the Mexico border (photo provided)

WASHINGTON – Two of the Hudson Valley’s House members are back from fact-finding missions last week, Congressman Maurice Hinchey of Hurley in Afghanistan and Pakistan and Congressman John Hall of Dover Plains to the Tucson sector of the US-Mexico border.

Speaking in a conference call Wednesday, Hinchey talked of his meetings with the presidents of both countries – Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan.

The congressional delegation of which he was a part, also met with US Embassy officials and other representatives of the two nations.

“The fact that the Taliban is back is causing some concern in Afghanistan,” Hinchey said. “They are stronger than they were back in 2001.”

Because of the US “lack of attention” in Afghanistan, the situation is “contentious and potentially dangerous.”

After American forces uprooted the Taliban and pushed Al Qaeda back, Hinchey said the US “abandoned” Afghanistan and its hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

“But, if he had been capture then it would have been less likely that an invasion of Iraq would have been justified,” he said. “So, I think it was intentional that he was let go. In any case, they did not follow him. He was allowed to escape. And, if he is still alive, which is a question in my mind, if he is still alive, he is still up in that section of these two countries, on that border between Afghanistan and Patkistan.”

Hinchey said the US should withdraw its forces from Iraq “as quickly as possible” over an 18 month period with those forces being redeployed to Afghanistan where “things are falling apart.”

Hinchey, meanwhile, said Pakistan needs to build up its military forces to protect it from Iran.

Hall’s visit to the Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona shed light on the new technology uses to guard the border. “The effort to secure our borders is a multi-faceted, multi-layered operation run by dedicated and resourceful professionals,” he said.