News that the Gen. Stanley McChrystal — the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan — thinks we need more troops there to avoid “mission failure” has spurred a number of statements from lawmakers. Some applaud the call for more troops. Others gently criticize it. Here’s a quick roundup of some of the statements:House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH): “General McChrystal’s assessment makes clear that we need additional troops to implement an effective counterinsurgency strategy to secure Afghanistan against a radical, terrorist threat…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. 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.”
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=137933