Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed strong reservations about Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s recent request for a significant increase in U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press program on Sunday, Oct. 11, Levin said emphasis should be placed instead on training Afghan forces and police to maintain stability in their home country and fend off Taliban and Al Qaida intruders. Reflecting Levin’s stance, the conference report on Congress’ version of the 2010 defense bill contains a provision authorizing President Obama’s $7.5 billion request for funds to train the Afghan army and national police force. McChrystal’s request, however, does have supporters on both sides of the aisle. A Voice of America report noted that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., each expressed support for the increase. “We have to slow down the Taliban. That means prevailing militarily,” Chambliss said on ABC’s This Week, which also aired Oct. 11. “I do not know how you put somebody who is as crackerjack as General McChrystal, who gives the president very solid recommendations, and not take those recommendations,” Feinstein said during the same telecast.
