In an interview with CNBC yesterday, President Obama rejected any comparison of the war in Afghanistan to Vietnam and made clear that he understands the importance of having boots on the ground as part of any war against al Qaeda and their Taliban allies (and credit to CNBC for even asking about Afghanistan, which the geniuses at 60 Minutes apparently felt wasn't relevant to an interview with the nation's commander in chief):
The president promised to weigh the recommendation of the top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, on whether the United States should commit more troops. But he took issue with assertions that the job of dismantling terrorism networks can be handled by drones and other alternatives to soldiers on the ground.
"I assure you that if that were the case, you wouldn't see 68,000 of our young men and women deployed in Afghanistan," he said.
And if today's hearings in the Senate are any indication, there are likely to be a lot more U.S. troops in Afghanistan very soon. McCain got Mullen to acknowledge that Carl Levin's proposal -- focusing exclusively on raising Afghan force levels -- basically won't work. McCain asked him if a focus on training alone would turn it around. Mullen said no. McCain also got Mullen to talk about the urgency of the situation, and then threw Gibbs' "weeks and weeks" line back at the administration.
The lede in the Chicago Tribune shows how this morning's hearing is playing in the press:
A properly resourced counter-insurgency effort in Afghanistan probably means that more military forces will be needed there, the top uniformed officer said today.
