Jack Reed: Afghanistan and health care

by Mark Silva

Sen. Jack Reed, Democrat from Rhode Island and a West Point graduate, was fresh from a meeting at the Pentagon this morning when he was asked about the decision that President Barack Obama faces about troop deployments in Afghanistan.

"He has to do this in the context of both Pakistan and Afghanistan,'' Reed said. "I think he is quite right to put this in a much broader context.''

Asked about the likelihood of getting a health-care bill out of Congress, Reed said this: "I think we're close to passage.''

Asked about the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan advising against a boost in forces in light of the state of government in the nation, Reed said: "I think he is pointing out what the president already understood... A large part of these (considerations) is local governance... Even if (Afghan) President (Hamid) Karzai was enthusiastic, the reality is that, beyond Kabul there is very little governance anywhere.''

"This is what makes the president's job very difficult... He's the only one... who has to take in not only military capabilities.''

With a steady rain falling on Washington and the Capitol looming in a northern window of the Newseum, Reed joined the political, business and military leaders addressing a Bloomberg Washington Summit running today and Friday. Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the U.S. Central Command and architect of the "surge'' of U.S. forces in Iraq, also will speak here today.

"I think there is a consensus that additional training of forces is necessary, and that will require additional troops,'' Reed said about the decision the president now faces in Afghanistan as he heads to Asia today for a 10-day tour. "The numbers are less compelling to me than the justification and rationale...''

Is the House's health-care bill "dead on arrival'' in the Senate, and will the Senate's bill include a public option?

"I was here in '93 and '94 when we couldn't get a bill out of any committee,'' Reed said. "We now have a bill out of the House... I think at this juncture, my presumption would be, we're going to pass a bill. It's hard to focus in on the specific language. It's going to be part of the legislative process.''

Can Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid get the 60 votes which he needs to advance a health-care bill to a debate and vote? (Reid (D-Nev.) has set the stage for that vote as early as Tuesday.)

"I think he can,'' Reed said. "The pressure is building... We're in the most severe economic situation since the Depression. If we don't get our hands around health care, we might come out of the recession but we won't have dealt with long-term liabilities... This is probably the most critical economic and social issue we're going to face. I think we're close to passage.''