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Newsweek, which labeled the effort "Obama's Vietnam" in a recent cover story, reported earlier this month that "the situation in Afghanistan is bad and getting worse."
Mr. Murphy traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan earlier this winter with a congressional delegation that included U.S. Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.), a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, who, Mr. Murphy said, is one of the leading experts on Pakistan.
Applying Pressure
"I totally agree that Pakistan plays a great role in this," said Wendy Cohen Summer of Warren, who visits Afghanistan regularly in connection with her business, Zaanha, which generates business initiatives for Afghani women.
"We have put pressure on the Pakistani Army to fight the extremists rather than collaborate," Mr. Murphy said in an interview after the two-hour session. "That's going to be a challenge for this administration. The biggest problem is that you have elements of the military that have a history of collaborating with the Taliban.
"My mind is not made up on sending more troops there," he said.
CBS' "60 Minutes" reported earlier this month that "Islamic extremists" have launched 600 attacks in Pakistan in the last year, killing 2,000 people.
"The Taliban is stronger than ever in Pakistan," Mr. Murphy said.
"However, The Taliban and Al Qaeda are not the same thing," he said, making reference to the terrorist group that has taken responsibility for the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001.
"There are rank-and-file elements of the Taliban that aren't terrorists, who could be brought into an Afghani or Pakistan government if they saw new elements there," Mr. Murphy said. "Rank-and-file Talis are not the same as rank-and-file Al Qaeda members."
The congressman, who recently started his second term, said that the police in Afghanistan "are incredibly weak and they need much more help.
"If we're going to put all these new troops in Afghanistan, a big part of that has to be devoted to building up the police force," Mr. Murphy said.
"I think from now on, it's going to be limited aid," Litchfield attorney Jim Stedronsky said in an interview. "If we don't see results, then we're going to be out of there."
"We should concern ourselves with the people of Afghanistan and the humanitarian crisis that's going on," said Ms. Cohen Summer, who indicated that she would be traveling to that country again later this winter.
Mr. Murphy praised Mr. Obama's selection of former United Nations Ambassador Richard Holbooke to be his special envoy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"I think Holbrooke is the right guy," he said.
Although the forum was billed as a discussion on the congressman's recent fact-finding mission, Mr. Murphy devoted his opening remarks to the economic crisis, which he described as the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
As he has said in recent interviews, although improvements could be made on the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package that Mr. Obama signed last week, he believes it will help revive an economy that is ailing despite large infusions of federal money over the last year to banks, the domestic auto industry and taxpayers.
"This is not a fix," Mr. Murphy said of the stimulus plan. "It's a life raft. It is a pathway to economic revitalization.
The congressman said the plan provides money that can allow state and municipal governments not to lay off employees and slash programs.
He said it also makes intelligent investments in energy-efficient green technologies, which will benefit companies such as Fuel Cell Energy, which has operations in Danbury and Torrington.
Connecticut is a recognized leader in the fuel-cell industry, largely because of the research and development conducted over the last 50 years by UTC Power in South Windsor.
Mr. Murphy said some of the stimulus money will be devoted to upgrading health care technology, an issue that his immediate predecessor, Nancy Johnson (R-New Britain) had championed.
He said that the improvements in that area would increase productivity and potentially lower costs.
On another part of the economy, Mr. Murphy said that he is concerned about the request by domestic automakers last week for a combined $17 billion in economic relief in addition to the $13 million that was awarded late last year.
However, he said that a collapse of the automakers would hurt the local economy.
"In Connecticut we're seeing jobs that are dependent on the auto industry vanishing," Mr. Murphy said in an interview. "I don't think that we should give a blank check, but I don't think we should turn our backs."
