Showdown Looms Over Troop Surge in Afghanistan

While the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee argued at a Capitol Hill press conference Friday that the size of the U.S. force in Afghanistan should not be increased, the top Republican on the committee went to the Senate floor to make the opposite case.

The dueling messages symbolized the political showdown that looms for the Obama administration this fall over the direction of the war in Afghanistan.

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the top Senate Democrat on military policy, said Friday afternoon that the war in Afghanistan requires "a surge of Afghan forces," not more American forces, in order to achieve ultimate victory there. He added that no matter what the American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, requests in the near future, the senator will recommend against sending additional combat troops to Afghanistan for now.

"We should increase and accelerate our efforts to support the Afghan security forces in their efforts to become self-sufficient . . . before we consider whether to increase U.S. combat forces above the levels already planned for the next few months," Levin said. He also said that the administration's goal of having 240,000 Afghan army troops and 106,000 Afghan police should be moved up from 2013 to 2012.

The senator, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, laid out a three-pronged plan to strengthen the Afghan security forces, including improvements to its manpower, equipment and support. "To do that, we're going to need significantly more trainers, including a larger contribution from our NATO allies." Levin called additional support from NATO countries "the least they could do."

Levin allowed that security in parts of Afghanistan has deteriorated, "but it can be turned around." He also called allegations of fraud in the recent re-election of Afghan President Hamid Karzai "a major layer of complication" for U.S. efforts there.

Levin predicted that Gen. McChrystal will request additional U.S. combat troops this fall. When asked if he would directly oppose a potential troop increase request from the general, Levin said, "I am saying this in my recommendation to the president and I hope he considers my recommendation."

While Levin spoke to reporters in the Capitol, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) went to the Senate floor to argue for sending more American troops to the country. McCain said he "could not disagree more profoundly" with Levin. "While I have great affection and respect for Senator Levin, I believe that this position would repeat the nearly catastrophic mistakes of Iraq and significantly set back the vital war effort in Afghanistan."

McCain said that the next 12 to 18 months will be a crucial phase in the war, when security in the country must be improved by both training Afghan forces and winning back areas of the country that the Taliban now controls. "To do this, we will need more U.S. combat forces in Afghanistan, not less or the same amount as we have today," he said.

McChrystal has not indicated whether he will request more troops as a part of his assessment of the progress of the war, and the White House said Thursday it has not made a decision on how it would respond to such a request. "The president will make a decision based on what he thinks is in the best national security interests of this country," Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday.

During the 2008 campaign, then-candidate Barack Obama argued for a troop surge in Afghanistan. In February, he approved an increase of 17,000 combat troops. Another troop increase would not require congressional approval, unless new funding is needed. But as the war there drags on, its political implications domestically increase, especially for Democrats.

Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "I don't think there's a great deal of support for sending more troops to Afghanistan, in the country or in the Congress."