Bachmann concludes Afghanistan trip

WASHINGTON - Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann took a short trip to Afghanistan over the weekend to visit Minnesota troops serving there and to assess the planned U.S. troop drawdown from the region, according to a statement released by Bachmann's office Sunday evening.

Bachmann also met with the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen. The three-term Congresswoman sits on the House Intelligence Committee and has an interest in national security issues. However, the visit comes as Jim Graves, her DFL opponent in this fall's elections, has made an issue of Bachmann's many absences from the district while she pursued the Republican presidential nomination last year.

Bachmann plans to hold a press conference via conference call on Monday morning from Qatar with more information about the visit.

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