Members of Congress Prod Obama on Afghanistan

By: Mark Knoller
Topics: Afghanistan

(AP)

Though President Obama may not take their advice, he gave key members of Congress the better part of 90 minutes to offer their views on whether he should send up to 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.

"The president was clear that he will make the decision that he thinks will best prevent future attacks on the American homeland and our allies," according to a statement from an administration official.

Some 18 members of the House and Senate of both parties got to express their views to the President during the session in the State Dining Room.

The official said President Obama made it clear his decision won't make everybody happy but that he is committed to work with Congress on it.

"I think all of recognize the president has a very difficult decision to make," said House Republican Leader John Boehner. "I think he was honest about wanting our input and our advice."

And if the president's objective in Afghanistan is to deny al-Qaida and the Taliban a safe haven, Boehner said, "I believe that my colleagues on the House side will support him."

GOP leaders, including former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, are imploring Mr. Obama to follow the advice of his top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChristal. In his report to the president in August, McChrystal warned that without an influx of American troops, the U.S. mission in Afghanistan is likely to fail.

"I'm very convinced that Gen. McChrystal's analysis is not only correct, but should be employed as quickly as possible," McCain told reporters after the meeting with the president.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said that if Mr. Obama follows McChrystal's advice, "a significant number" of GOP senators would back the president as well.

McCain, who had hoped voters last year would have made him president, says the handling of Afghanistan is a test for Mr. Obama as Commander-in-Chief. "And that's why he's going through the process that he's going through," he said.

A decision by Mr. Obama is still weeks away. He has two more strategy sessions with key national security advisors tomorrow and Friday in the White House Situation Room. The session tomorrow, said spokesman Robert Gibbs, will focus on Pakistan – whose security is a key factor in deciding the way forward in Afghanistan.

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Taliban Gaining Firepower and Confidence
Battle of Wanat - Inside the Ambush

Coming up on the "CBS Evening News": Afghanistan: The Road Ahead, an in-depth examination of the escalating conflict, airing this week at 6:30 p.m. ET.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Afghanistan

(CBS)

Mark Knoller is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here. You can also follow him on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/markknoller.

Mark Knoller
Mark Knoller is a CBS News White House correspondent.
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by Aldymac October 7, 2009 5:57 AM EDT: So, are the Republicans being blamed for the swine flu? National health care isn't going to stop something that started else where on the planet.
For her opening show on CBS, katie couric gave the taliban some primo air time that went out world wide, they made a cry for help, and those who believe in jihad answered that call. You want to place blame? Give credit where it's due, but, it's much easier to blame someone you don't like, right?
Indecision by LBJ cost a lot of American lives in Viet Nam, he also had a poor commander to listen to, McChrystal knows what he is doing, and he has the confidence of those under his command, but McChrystal and those under his command do not have confidence in Obama. The longer the indecision goes on, the more Americans are going to die, Obama has never been in the military and doesn't know what it is like to put your life on the line. What makes it even harder for Obama, is the fact that he can't appease and give the order to kill the enemy at the same time, so expect the casualty numbers to go up while inexperience, indecision, and the desire to appease are weighed out.; Reply to this comment


by joeltheleo October 6, 2009 11:57 PM EDT: Hey McSame - why do we have to focus on the Taliban? Why can't we go for the throat with Al Qaeda and get this over with? Haven't the misguided foreign policies of the Republicans and their Generals undermined our country enough already? I could give a rats behind about the Taliban while these clowns are blocking substantive health-care reform on the verge of a swine flu pandemic.; Reply to this comment


by rhs648 October 6, 2009 11:52 PM EDT: stevex47 - Have you anything better to do than find fault. Why not put forth some creative proposals to solve America's problems. Name calling doesn't solve anything. It just further divides us. There are people on both sides of the aisle who are well intentioned and want what is best for the American people. Dialogue, not blame and name calling, is a better approach to finding solutions.; Reply to this comment


by stevex47 October 6, 2009 8:36 PM EDT: Nice of boosh and company to leave Obama a HUGE mess to clean up.

Now he isn't cleaning it up the way they like?

Typical nutjobs.

Mission Accomplished

Oh ya, great job on the economy reich wingers.; Reply to this comment

by faceofus October 6, 2009 8:01 PM EDT

Obama needs to make a decision! Young soldiers are dying while he flies off to Denmark, dresses up doctors in white coats for a media event and spends his time spewing forth empty rhetoric. And if you are wondering, I am NOT a republican. My patience is simply at an end.

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by rhs648 October 6, 2009 11:39 PM EDT: President Obama, like any other president, has to deal with many different problems. No president can devote all or most of his time to just one issue. He has to contend with Iraq and Afghanistan, the rest of the world, the economy, health care, education, and many other problems. It is unfair to expect any president to limit his efforts to just one problem. I would challenge any of you to become president and deal with the many problems facing America. Let us see what a great job you would do. You don't have to be an Obama supporter to appreciate the hard job he faces. And now we even begrudge presidents whenever they take some vacation time.

by way2ski October 6, 2009 7:41 PM EDT

It's never too late to admit we've made a strategic blunder. Job one was to defeat al Qaeda and their leader Osama bin Laden. Overthrowing two countries didn't defeat them. Putting up a puppet leader didn't defeat them. Pakistan now looms eminently as the next country to face our wrath in the continuing saga of: where's Waldo? This strategy and whatever we hope to gain from it, by any measure of success, isn't worth the precious lives that will be lost in the process. We should bring the troops home, and figure out another way to catch terrorists, and secure our country from their wrath.

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by stuart-johns1 October 6, 2009 9:10 PM EDT: I liked your post. I agree it's a strategic blunder. But I think it's more about Pakistans nuclear weapons. That's what the U.S. is worried about. As far as Bin Laden. Not likely they'll ever find him - alive anyway.

The notion that we are there to destroy the Taliban is unreasonable. That'll be a forever battle.

The notion that we are preventing them from a having a haven from which to launch attacks on America is nonsense. The Taliban are throughout the world. They can just as easily launch attacks from Sudan or Somalia especially.

The notion that we are training Afghani's to defend themselves is true. But after many are trained some join the Taliban, give them as much info as they can and then fight against us. That's not working out.


by vpcharan October 6, 2009 7:28 PM EDT: We have spent over $1.5 trillion so far in Afghanistan and Iraq wars during the last 8 years. GOP wants to continue spending in wars (already lost), but not for the healthcare reform for the American People at home. GOP does not support healthcare reform for the American People because they say the reform would increase our budget deficit. Budget deficit does not matter to GOP when spending on wars. Wake up America!; Reply to this comment


by Questionews October 6, 2009 7:25 PM EDT: Not to be too pick, but the main page headlines reads "Republicans Prod Obama on Afgahnistan" but get to the page and it's "Member's of Congress Prod Obama on Afgahnistan" and the story says a group from both parties got to express their opinions. Why the misleading headline?? It made it out to look like Repub's were the only one's expressing their opinion to Obama?????; Reply to this comment

by Solarrays247 October 6, 2009 7:20 PM EDT

It's a darn shame they didn't question the bungling one back in 2003, while we still had the Taliban on the run, and before we invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003,eh?

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by jsd330 October 6, 2009 7:29 PM EDT: What did you expect out of a shoot from the hip cowboy, and he just did whatever Cheney & Rummy told him to do.

by hungry1968-16 October 6, 2009 7:19 PM EDT

Them republicans sure are eager to escalate a war now that they've washed their hands of all responsibility of it, aren't they?

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by democracy1 October 6, 2009 9:12 PM EDT: After diverting the focus in Afghanistan by starting a needless war in Iraq. If we had stayed out of Iraq and focused solely on Al Qaeda in Afghanitsan, our troops would have all probably come home by now.