Frankel , D-West Palm Beach, wanted to see the country where her son, a former marine, served. It’s a war that leaves Frankel conflicted: 9/11 demanded a response, she said, but was it worth the cost and will the country be left any better after the Americans leave?

“Something pulled at me to go,” Frankel said. “We’ve spent so much money in Afghanistan and lost so many lives. So many families have been devastated and really the violence continues.”

Frankel saw a safer country than in years’ past. The diplomats and military she met representing the United States and Afghanistan offered a “unifying message,” she said.

“It was the draw down is going well and there is what they expect will be a successful transition, from NATO and coalition (forces) to the national force,” Frankel said.

A member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Frankel and four other members of Congress met with a commander of the Afghanistan national security force and with leaders of the U.S. national security team.

She kept with her some advice from her son.

“One thing he’d always cautioned me is just to listen to what is being told you with a certain degree of skepticism,” said Frankel, a former West Palm Beach mayor.

He told her: “Just remember it’s their opinion. It may not necessarily be the fact.”

Flying in helicopters over remote parts of the country gave her a better sense of the terrain, and a glimpse of how its tribal culture, isolation and difficulty in communicating have played a role in the war. It also offered a moment to reflect on the toll.

“I think about what this war has meant to literally thousands of families whose loved ones have been killed or maimed. They’ve lost arms or legs,” Frankel said. “Families devastated and innocent people in Afghanistan, too. There are a lot of innocent civilians who have also been injured or killed. They’re just minding their business. They’re just trying to live a life.”

During her conversations with the military on the ground — both American and Afghan — the assessments were positive, Frankel said.

“They were all of the opinion that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda right now are not very potent,” she said.

“That is what we were told and I have a degree of healthy skepticism. I hope what they’re saying is true. I think they believe what they’re saying. I hope they’re correct.”

There’s a great deal at risk, both for Afghans and for the United States, she said.

“There’s importance for our own national security that this transition works, and we’re able to maintain a certain level of special operations in Afghanistan in order to prevent destabilization that could lead to future 9/11 type attacks,” Frankel said.

Frankel’s trip left her with great respect for the members of the military and the diplomats representing America, she said. As a lawmaker, she was also left with something else.

“We have to be very circumspect before we ever put troops on the ground again to think that somehow it’s going to make a difference,” she said.