Hoyer: No More Troops In Afghanistan Without Discussion With Top General

By Meagan Wiseley – University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News Service

Before the United States commits to sending additional troops to Afghanistan, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) wants to talk with General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in the war.

“I want to hear from McChrystal. I think clearly Afghanistan poses a very difficult issue for us”, Hoyer said at a weekly press conference in his office. The Taliban “is back with a vengeance,” he added.

In the 66 page report, which was leaked to The Washington Post on Sept. 21, McChrystal wrote that the current conflict in Afghanistan will most likely fail without 40,000 additional troops.

Last week, House Minority leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said that Congress needs to increase troop levels immediately. “I am deeply troubled, however, by reports that the White House is delaying action on the General’s request for more troops and questioning its strategy after the President endorsed ‘an integrated civilian-military counterinsurgency strategy’ six months ago,” Boehner said. “If these reports are accurate, and General McChrystal believes that without timely reinforcements our efforts in that country may end in failure, then the Obama Administration must act quickly to give him the resources he needs to achieve our goals. It’s time for the President to clarify where he stands on the strategy he has articulated, because the longer we wait the more we put our troops at risk.”

Hoyer said that President Obama’s approach to troop levels has been “thoughtful and considerate.”

Hoyer On Healthcare

On the healthcare front, Hoyer said he expects a House bill on the floor by sometime next month. “I expect us to move forward in the near future and have a bill ready for the floor certainly next month,” he said, and joked that “next month does not mean Thursday.”

When asked about if a deadline will be set for a House Healthcare bill, Hoyer said: “There is no deadline set, the Speaker and I are in lockstep on this… We will bring this bill to the floor when it is ready to come to the floor and not before that.”