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Although this wasn't his first trip to the Middle East, Murphy said he came back with stronger convictions toward the war in Afghanistan and the escalating situation in Syria.
During a call Monday afternoon with the media, Murphy said he and the delegation first went to the Kilis Refugee Camp at the border of Turkey and Syria. “This is a clear humanitarian disaster,” he said. “We should be incredibly grateful to Turkey for running some of the best camps."
He also met with some members of the Syrian opposition, saying it was clear that it “is even more fractured than I believed.”
The United States should stay committed to providing humanitarian aid to the country, Murphy said. But he was skeptical of putting any military aid on the ground, saying it was unclear how that military aid would be used.
“I would just be very hesitant in putting money on the ground if we are uncertain what the outcome is going to be,” Murphy said.
Also during the trip, he visited Connecticut soldiers who are training Afghan troops in Afghanistan.
“I was impressed by the quality of Afghan troops,” Murphy said. “They are more ready than ever to take over the job from the U.S. troops.”
But at the same time he questioned the type of support that the Afghan government is getting from the United States, referencing the reports of briefcases of money that the CIA had been giving to President Hamdi Karzi.
“How can we tell the Afghans that they should build a corruption free government when we’re handing unlimited money to the president,” Murphy said.
The delegation ended its trip with a visit to a U.S. military hospital in Germany, where he and the other senators met with injured members of the military. Murphy spoke about a man who, while seriously injured, wanted to return to Afghanistan.
Traditionally, the amount of bloodshed in a war has been assessed by the casualties, Murphy said. But he said the number of people who come back home with "grievous” and “life-altering” injuries should be in the count.
The trip, he said, confirmed his position to withdraw from Afghanistan and added to his skepticism about military aid to Syria.
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