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发帖数: 29846 | 1 Hawaiian ex-lawmaker goes from serving in Washington to Afghanistan vetting
suspected Taliban
WASHINGTON — While other candidates for Congress have spent the past six
months wooing voters and donors, former Rep. Charles Djou of Hawaii took a
detour through Afghanistan where he was part of a team responsible for
interrogating suspected Taliban fighters and determining who should be
detained or freed.
Congress is made up of numerous veterans who served during war time.
( Kent Nishimura / Associated Press ) - In this March 2, 2012 photo,
former U.S. Congressman Charles Djou poses for a portrait at Ala Moana Beach
Park in Honolulu. Djou, a major in the Army Reserves, returned recently
from a stint in Afghanistan with what he described as a better perspective
on what’s important in life and politics. He’ll apply that perspective on
the campaign trail as he attempts to persuade voters in Hawaii’s 1st
Congressional District to send him back to Washington.
( Kent Nishimura / Associated Press ) - In this March 2, 2012 photo,
former U.S. Congressman Charles Djou poses for a portrait at Ala Moana Beach
Park in Honolulu. Djou, a major in the Army Reserves, returned recently
from a stint in Afghanistan with what he described as a better perspective
on what’s important in life and politics. He’ll apply that perspective on
the campaign trail as he attempts to persuade voters in Hawaii’s 1st
Congressional District to send him back to Washington.
( J. Scott Applewhite, File / Associated Press ) - FILE - In this June 9
, 2010 photo, then-Hawaii Rep. Charles Djou speaks on Capitol Hill in
Washington. While other candidates for Congress have spent the past six
months wooing voters and donors, Djou took a detour through Afghanistan
where he was responsible for interrogating suspected Taliban fighters and
determining who should be detained or freed.
( Kent Nishimura / Associated Press ) - In this March 2, 2012 photo,
former U.S. Congressman Charles Djou poses for a portrait at Ala Moana Beach
Park in Honolulu. Djou, a major in the Army Reserves, returned recently
from a stint in Afghanistan with what he described as a better perspective
on what’s important in life and politics. He’ll apply that perspective on
the campaign trail as he attempts to persuade voters in Hawaii’s 1st
Congressional District to send him back to Washington.
( Kent Nishimura / Associated Press ) - In this March 2, 2012 photo, former
U.S. Congressman Charles Djou poses for a portrait at Ala Moana Beach Park
in Honolulu. Djou, a major in the Army Reserves, returned recently from a
stint in Afghanistan with what he described as a better perspective on what
’s important in life and politics. He’ll apply that perspective on the
campaign trail as he attempts to persuade voters in Hawaii’s 1st
Congressional District to send him back to Washington.
But the Republican Djou represents a rare instance when a former lawmaker
went from the partisan skirmishes on Capitol Hill to the real battlefront.
Djou, a major in the Army Reserves, returned recently from a stint in
Afghanistan with what he described as a better perspective on what’s
important in life and politics. He’ll apply that perspective on the
campaign trail as he attempts to persuade voters in Hawaii’s 1st
Congressional District to send him back to Washington.
Djou’s stint in Afghanistan comes with obvious disadvantages and advantages
to a campaign. He could not engage in political activities while on active
duty, so he was pretty much out of the public eye for six months. However,
his service will certainly appeal to many voters regardless of their
political affiliation, which is important in a Democratic stronghold like
Hawaii. Djou knew he would be going to Afghanistan when he made the decision
to run and believed he would be back in time to run a competitive campaign.
Democratic Rep. Colleen Hanabusa defeated Djou in the November 2010 general
election by 6 percentage points and will likely face him in a November
rematch.
While voters are now focused on jobs and the economy, Djou said he will
implore them not to forget about the troops in Afghanistan. He is urging
President Barack Obama not to draw down the number of troops too quickly for
the sake of those soldiers who remain.
“I recognize that the war on terrorists is not as hot an issue as it was in
2010 and certainly 2008, but I do have a unique perspective and I do think
it’s important,” Djou said in his first interview since his return. “I
have a unique vantage point in explaining to the American people not to
forget about those soldiers in harm’s way.”
Djou was deployed in the latter stages of the military’s buildup in
Afghanistan. While those in the National Guard frequently are deployed as a
unit, Djou — as a reservist — was plucked to fill an individual position
within the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Afghanistan.
The unit is based in the Kandahar province in Afghanistan, a particularly
dangerous province where the Taliban and the opium trade are at their
strongest. While Afghan forces have taken charge of security in wide swaths
of northern and western Afghanistan, southern Afghanistan is still volatile
territory.
When troops encountered suspected Taliban fighters, it was Djou’s
responsibility to vet suspects and determine whether they were a threat to U
.S. forces. He estimated that he dealt with more than 100 detainees.
Decisions were often difficult.
“A good chunk of them, I made the decision to let ‘em go,” Djou said. “
Part of that is we didn’t have good evidence. Part of that is because when
you’re in a counter-insurgency environment, you want to be extra cautious.
You don’t want to detain a local villager, who really is innocent, and then
basically just anger the village and the family and turn all of them
against Americans.” |
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