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U.S. Sens. Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski and U.S. Reps Donna F. Edwards and Roscoe G. Bartlett said this week that they are skeptical of President Barack Obama's plan to send more troops to Afghanistan, although some of their colleagues in Maryland's congressional delegation either support it or are undecided.

"Our troops are worn out, and we are out of money," Mikulski said in a statement. "There are no simple answers, and no silver bullets for Afghanistan."

On Tuesday, Obama announced his intention to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan in early 2010. Under the plan, the troops would remain until July 2011, and then the United States would begin reducing its forces.

Before Obama's announcement, Mikulski (D) of Baltimore said she had "grave reservations" about sending more troops to Afghanistan.

In a statement Tuesday, Edwards (D-Dist. 4) of Fort Washington said she appreciated Obama's efforts to improve the conditions in Afghanistan but is "concerned that the president has left an open-ended commitment and not outlined a mission that can be met primarily with a surge of military force."

The question, Edwards said, is whether Afghanistan's military and government leaders can rebuild the country, given the corruption in President Hamid Karzai's government.

Cardin, a member of the U.S. Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, agreed with Edwards. In a statement, he said that while Afghan leaders should be responsible for the stability of their own country, he is "unconvinced" that the U.S. should send troops to uphold Afghanistan's internal security. 

"I am skeptical of sending additional U.S. combat troops to Afghanistan to perform the duties Afghans must do themselves," Cardin (D) of Pikesville said in a statement.

"We are not looking for perfection from our Afghan partners, but a larger U.S. military presence will not transform the current leadership into one that can overcome corruption, nor will it transform inherently tribal and regional structures into a functioning national government."

U.S. Reps. John P. Sarbanes (D-Dist. 3) of Towson and Frank Kratovil (D-Dist. 1) of Stevensville are on the fence about Obama's plan, saying in statements that they have to review more of the plan before offering an opinion.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Dist. 7) of Baltimore supports Obama's plan to send more troops to Afghanistan.

"I understand that we must fight, and we must finish this job," Cummings said in a statement.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said that Obama's plan is "balanced" and signaled an expectation that Afghanistan needs to be self-reliant in less than two years.

During a hearing Thursday of the House Services Committee, U.S. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-Dist. 6) of Buckeystown asked Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates if involvement in Afghanistan is "the ultimate exercise in futility," because the Taliban could relocate to Pakistan, said Bartlett's spokeswoman Lisa Wright.