McCain Calls For Surge In Afghanistan

Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

John McCain (R-Ariz.) stated Wednesday that he agreed with General Stanley McChrystal’s assessment that the efforts in Afghanistan are deteriorating and called for an increase of U.S. forces in the country.

“There has to be a surge, there has to be a significant increase in troops on the ground and there has to be an overall strategy such as employed in Iraq, adaptive to Afghanistan,” McCain said during a press conference with Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich) on the contents of the National Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 conference report.

Both McCain and Levin went on to outline their views of the report.

“The conference report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 reflects almost all of the decisions of the Secretary of Defense and the President to terminate troubled programs, delay programs for which requirements are not yet defined, and reorient programs and systems to deal with today’s threats and apply the lessons gained from more than seven years of war,” said Levin.

“I am happy to support the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 conference report which funds the needs and requirements of our brave men and women in uniform to succeed in their mission,” McCain said. “I am disappointed that this year’s conference report includes hate crimes legislation, which I continue to oppose, and funding for continued development of the alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter.”