U.S. military and civilian leaders in Afghanistan told a group of lawmakers visiting that south-central Asian country that more troops are needed to win the war against the anti-government Taliban.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, said he and other members of the House Armed Services Committee spoke with several top military commanders and U.S. aid officials during a whirlwind weekend visit.

"What I came back with is, people on the ground there remain extremely confident," said Hunter, a former U.S. Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. "They say we can do this, we can win this thing, if we are willing to go big."

Hunter said there is consensus among commanders and civilian officials for an Iraq-style surge, which involved tens of thousands of additional troops being sent to that country in 2007 to overcome the insurgency.

His report comes as President Barack Obama continues to weigh U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal's weeks-old request for at least 40,000 more troops. The U.S. now has close to 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, in addition to about 30,000 from NATO countries.

Among the commanders the lawmakers met with was Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, who heads the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. Nicholson told the delegation the model now being used by Marine units such as Camp Pendleton's 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, in which troops partner with Afghan forces and live in local villages, is proving to be a recipe for success, Hunter said.

The congressional representatives also spent time with Lt. Col. William McCollough, head of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. His 1,200 troops in the Helmand province's Nawa district have been held up as an example of what is possible in Afghanistan.

"You have to have a good local governor and a competent, trained police force that will work with the Marines," Hunter said.

Hunter, a freshman representative who last year won the seat his father held for two decades, also talked to the troops about reducing the carnage from roadside bombs, also known as improvised explosive devices or IEDs.

Last week, Hunter demanded that a Pentagon agency that has spent more than $15 billion fighting the bombs take immediate steps to reduce the threat in Afghanistan. Of the 394 U.S. troop deaths there this year, 242 came from roadside bombs, according to icasualties.org, which tracks military fatalities.

His ideas include hiring contractors to watch the roads, putting light aircraft over the roadways and installing cameras and monitoring stations.

"What everybody wants is a Task Force ODIN," he said in reference to a group established in Iraq in 2007 whose name came from its mission ---- Observe, Detect, Identify and Neutralize the bomb-making networks.

Last week, Hunter sharply questioned Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz, head of the Pentagon's Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. During a hearing, Hunter demanded to know why the group can't put more eyes on Afghanistan's limited network of roads.

"He didn't answer the question," Hunter said of Metz. "But I believe, and the commanders I talked to in Afghanistan believe, that if we really want to mobilize against IEDs, we can begin to stop them."

It's absurd, he added, that despite all the anti-bomb spending, the Marines from the 1/5 are using the same kind of metal detectors that are commonly used by treasure hunters on California beaches.

Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-740-3529.