
Hours before heading to the White House with the bipartisan leadership of the House and Senate to discuss U.S. operations in Afghanistan, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said today that a lack of political focus in Washington had cost the U.S. forces in their efforts to defeat the Taliban.
"This is an effort that, frankly, we should have succeeded on years ago," Hoyer said. "We took our eye off the ball. We under-resourced that effort."
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PD toolbar!At his weekly press briefing, Hoyer would not comment on what advice he'll give the president, but did break from Senate Democrats in saying he wants to hear from Gen. Stanley McChrystal before a strategy in Afghanistan is finalized. "I continue to believe and recommend that General McChrystal, in the relatively near future and before we make a determination as to what we should do, testify before the Congress and brief the Congress. Perhaps in executive session, if that's necessary, but also testify before the Congress."
Senators last week voted to prevent McChrystal or any other top military commander from testifying before Congress until President Obama has announced his strategy for Afghanistan. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) led that effort, saying the president has the right to receive confidential recommendations from the top brass before they testify in public. He will be at the White House today, along with other top Democrats and Republicans.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the meeting will start out with a review of American operations in Afghanistan, and will then open up to questions and comments from members of Congress.
According to Gibbs, Obama believes that Congress and the president both have roles to play in the decision-making process. "There are different roles, one of the commander in chief, the other through the appropriations process for the resources that are needed to move forward," Gibbs said. "You can't have one without the other."
Hoyer called the entire landcape in Afghanistan "a very, very thorny issue."
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