McCain says additional troops may be needed in Afghanistan, waits for commanders’ assessment

October 11th, 2009 Key Democrat wants boost in forces in AfghanistanWASHINGTON — The U.S. mission in Afghanistan is in "serious jeopardy" and needs more troops to turn the tide against an increasingly potent Taliban insurgency, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday, putting her at odds with an influential Democratic colleague on military matters Sen.

October 11th, 2009 Key Democrat urges better strategy for AfghanistanWASHINGTON — The Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Sunday a better strategy and a firm resolve to succeed in Afghanistan are more important than a rapid increase in U.S. troops there.

September 23rd, 2009 McCain: More troops needed in AfghanistanWASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain says more U.S.

September 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The top US commander in Afghanistan is expected to soon request as many as 40,000 additional soldiers, FOX News reported. General Stanley McChrystal could submit the request to Defence Secretary Robert Gates as soon as Wednesday, FOX News reported Tuesday, citing a senior defence official.

September 3rd, 2009 Gates: It's not time to leave AfghanistanWASHINGTON — Facing eroding public support for the war in Afghanistan, the Pentagon chief said Thursday that the Obama administration's effort in the eight-year-old conflict is "only now beginning." Defense Secretary Robert Gates also said he disagrees with people who say it's time to get out of Afghanistan. Several recent public opinion polls have shown Americans expressing declining support for the idea of sending more troops to the conflict and falling confidence in how the campaign is going.

September 3rd, 2009 Gates says it's not time to leave AfghanistanWASHINGTON — Facing eroding public support for the war in Afghanistan, the Pentagon chief said Thursday that the Obama administration's effort in the eight-year-old conflict is "only now beginning." Defense Secretary Robert Gates also said he disagrees with people who say it's time to get out of Afghanistan. Several recent public opinion polls have shown Americans expressing declining support for the idea of sending more troops to the conflict and falling confidence in how the campaign is going.

August 31st, 2009 NATO gets report of top commander in AfghanistanBRUSSELS — The strategic review of the war in Afghanistan prepared by the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces there has been received by commands on both sides of the ocean, officials in Brussels said Monday.

August 24th, 2009 US service member killed in southern AfghanistanKABUL — An American service member was killed in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Monday.

August 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Even as Afghanistan awaits the result of its second presidential election, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has said conditions in Afghanistan are "deteriorating," and hinted at further troop increases. "I think it is serious and it is deteriorating and I've said that over the past couple of years that the Taliban insurgency has gotten better, more sophisticated, in their tactics," the New York Times quoted Admiral Mike Mullen, as saying on CNN's State of the Union.

August 23rd, 2009 Mullen worried over public support for Afghan warWASHINGTON — The U.S. military's top uniformed officer expressed concern Sunday about eroding public support for the war in Afghanistan and said the country remains vulnerable to being taken over again by extremist forces.

August 23rd, 2009 McCain: Afghanistan needs Petraeus' Iraq approachWASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain said he wants the military leadership in Afghanistan to use the same aggressive approach that Gen.

August 18th, 2009 McCain calls for more US troops in AfghanistanKABUL — Sen. John McCain called Tuesday for more American troops in Afghanistan, saying that doubling the number of Marines in one southern region could lead to "significantly more success." The former Republican presidential candidate, along with other members of a visiting congressional delegation, also said that Afghanistan's elections this week were a milestone event, but that the U.S.

August 5th, 2009 Pentagon says review of Afghan war to be delayedWASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates, asking that "a few other ideas" be taken into account, has extended the deadline for an assessment of how to turn around the war in Afghanistan, an official said Wednesday. The report had been expected next week and now may come in late August or early September, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell said.

March 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Senator John McCain has denounced President Barack Obama's new plan for sending additional troops to Afghanistan, saying it was "not enough" and suggested the President ought to have been clearer that there will be more troop casualties. The Arizona Republican, who contested against Obama last year, said he was glad the President put the issue "front and center," but is worried that Obama hadn't offered a realistic enough picture of the likely increase in casualties that can be expected with the surge of troops.

February 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama will soon announce his decision on the deployment of more troops in Afghanistan, the White House has said. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who travelled with the president from Chicago to Washington, told reporters Monday that the government was reviewing the US policy towards Afghanistan and may take a decision soon to send additional troops to the war-torn country.