Obama Must Contend With Democrats Increasingly Uneasy on Afghanistan

As decision time looms over whether to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, President Obama is facing increasingly vocal resistance from members of his own party. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, returned from Afghanistan last week and now says that he does not support a troop increase until Afghan security forces are further along in their training and preparation. Speaking yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that there is not much support for a troop increase "in the country or in Congress," and that Obama would face opposition from Congress if he tried to answer military requests for more troops.

Polls show that public support for the conflict is critically low, and military commanders have spent the last few weeks painting a bleak picture of the situation. Many have indicated that they cannot achieve any degree of success without more soldiers, though Gen. Stanley McChrystal has not yet formally requested more troops. Many Democratic lawmakers have taken a "wait and see" approach, saying they are not opposed to increasing troops after certain goals have been achieved with Afghan security forces. In the face of these considerations, the White House has indicated it may be weeks before Obama makes a decision.

Obama Facing Doubts Within His Own Party on Afghanistan [New York Times]