Suited up in 40 pounds of body armor and escorted by soldiers wielding high-caliber weapons, South Florida Congresswoman Lois Frankel found Afghanistan a treacherous place to visit last week after 12 years of war.

On her first congressional trip abroad, Frankel kept thinking about her own son's dangerous duty in Afghanistan as she flew by helicopter over the war-torn countryside and talked with generals and troops, including some from Palm Beach County. She returned impressed by their courage but still fearful that Afghanistan, which has soaked up so much blood and treasure, could slide back into a hotbed of terrorism once most U.S. troops pull out next year.

"Whether it's sustainable is the really big question," she said of the prospects for a secure Afghanistan. "What you realize is, this violence isn't over. The war is not over for the people we have left there. It's still a dangerous situation, even though it's much better."

For Frankel, a freshman Democrat from West Palm Beach, the bipartisan fact-finding tour was an emotional experience that made her constantly grateful that her 35-year-old son, retired Marine Capt. Ben Lubin, came home safely after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"As a mother, I was very anxious the whole time he was there," she said. "I'm glad I went afterward instead of before, because I would have been a wreck."

While touring by helicopter, Frankel was sheathed in body armor. "I could hardly walk," she said. "They had us surrounded by bodyguards with high-caliber guns. Yet they say it's so much safer now."

Still, she said she was somewhat heartened by reassurances from generals and troops who maintained a sense of optimism in the face of ongoing conflict. That included some constituents: three students from Palm Beach State College who had signed up for the National Guard expecting to help Florida prepare for hurricane season but found themselves in Afghanistan. Frankel's response was to help them secure student loans.

"They were happy to know that people who sent them there care about them and are watching over them," she said.

Frankel, 65, a Vietnam War protester while a student at Boston University in the 1960s, brings a far different perspective than her predecessor, former U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Palm Beach Gardens.

A blunt-spoken former Army lieutenant colonel and tea-party favorite, West took a hawkish stance when representing the 22nd district, which straddles Broward and Palm Beach counties. At one point, he chastised President Barack Obama for setting a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan by 2014, saying it tips off the enemy and undermines U.S. commanders. West was defeated last year while running in another newly drawn district along the Treasure Coast.

By contrast, Frankel wonders about the lasting effectiveness of the U.S. mission.

"A lot of people will argue that all these billions of dollars we spent on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could have made our country more secure if we spent that money on educating our kids at home," she said. "A lot of people think [Afghanistan] will just go back to what it was. You'd be unrealistic if you didn't think that was a possibility."

She paused when asked whether she thought the war was worth fighting. "We were attacked," she said, referring to the 2001 terrorist attacks, directed by al-Qaida leaders based in Afghanistan. "There needed to be some response. But did the response have to be as long?"

Frankel, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and four colleagues talked first-hand with military leaders, diplomats and troops as well as an Afghan corps commander and a national security adviser to assess security needs as U.S. forces prepare to turn over control to Afghan forces. The House members, who traveled from May 25 to June 1, also made stops in Kosovo, Qatar and Germany, where she met with injured American soldiers.

Frankel said the United States will need to keep funding the Afghan army long after U.S. troops withdraw. Her underlying conclusion: U.S. leaders should send soldiers into war only as a last result.

"We shouldn't send them into harm's way unless there's no other way out," she said. "And we should take care of them and make sure they have the opportunity to succeed once they come home. Many cannot find jobs, and their benefits are delayed. This to me is a national disgrace. "