Walz sends Obama "unanswered questions" about the surge

If the White House wants to secure Rep. Tim Walz's support for their escalation of the war in Afghanistan, they should check their mailbox.

The Democrat veteran from Southern Minnesota sent president Obama a list of 14 "unanswered questions" about the surge last week and said in an interview that he may consider pushing for an alternative plan of action if he is not satisfied with the responses.

So far, he is one of several Minnesota Democrats in Congress who have been slow to support Obama's plan to drastically increase America's presence in the region.

In his letter to Obama which was copied to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates (PDF here), Walz said he wanted more information about some of the plan's "more granular details." At least one of his questions seemed a bit more than granular, however: "How will our nation pay for our continued efforts in the region?"

The central inquiries on Walz's list address the benchmarks for measuring success, the extent and mission of the "civilian surge," the specific plan to rid the Afghan Government of curruption and the methods for defeating Al Qaeda and the Taliban forces.

A Walz spokester said the White House responded and they are trying to get the questions answered.