Obama won't slash forces in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama told congressional leaders Tuesday he would not substantially cut U.S. forces in Afghanistan or shift the mission to just hunting terrorists there, but he indicated he remained undecided on a substantial troop buildup proposed by his commanding general.

Meeting with leaders from both parties at the White House, Obama suggested he was searching for some sort of middle ground, saying he wanted to "dispense with the straw man argument that this is about either doubling down or leaving Afghanistan," White House officials said.

With the war's eight-year anniversary today, the session underscored the nation's split over Afghanistan: Some Democrats said they would support whatever Obama decides, others challenged him about sending more troops. Republicans pressed him to order the escalation without delay.

That lead to a pointed exchange between Obama and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, his Republican opponent from last year's election.

McCain told Obama that "time is not on our side" and "this should not be a leisurely process," several people in the room said.

A few minutes later, Obama replied: "John, I can assure you this won't be leisurely," they said. "No one feels more urgency to get this right than I do."

Obama summoned the about 30 lawmakers to assure them he would keep their concerns in mind as he considers Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for as many as 40,000 more troops. He plans to meet today with his national security team to talk about Pakistan and on Friday to talk about Afghanistan. Aides plan to schedule one more meeting before Obama makes his decision.

Several administration officials and lawmakers at Tuesday's session said Obama was intent on using it to dismiss any impression that he would consider pulling out of Afghanistan.

"There is no option that would entail a dramatic reduction in troops," said one administration official, who requested anonymity.

Both Obama and Vice President Joe Biden made clear that an option Biden had proposed was not a pure counterterrorism alternative relying only on unmanned drones and Special Forces to track al-Qaida leaders.

Instead, Biden's approach would increase the use of such surgical strikes while leaving the overall size of the U.S. force in Afghanistan roughly at the 68,000 troops currently authorized.

And in the final moments of the meeting, Obama sought to put to rest suspicions of friction with McChrystal.

"I'm the one who hired him," Obama said, according to participants. "I put him there to give me a frank assessment."

After the meeting, statements on the White House driveway by the two top Democratic leaders made clear Obama's political challenge.

"The one thing that I thought was interesting was that everyone, Democrats and Republicans, said whatever decision you make, we'll support it basically," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, smiled and raised her eyebrows in apparent disagreement.

"Whether we agreed with it or voted for it remains to be seen when we see what the president put forth," she said. "But I think there was a real display of universal respect for the manner in which he was approaching it."

At least three Democrats -- Pelosi; Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Armed Services Committee chairman; and Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the Appropriations Committee -- voiced reservations during the meeting about increasing troops, those in attendance said.

"There were a number of people who spoke out with a lot of caution about getting in deeper and what the end point is," Levin said after the meeting.

Levin, who promoted accelerated training of Afghan forces, met with Obama alone in the Oval Office to expand on his views.

Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said after the meeting "it would be irresponsible" to send more troops until it became clear "what is possible in Afghanistan."

Some Democrats were more supportive of McChrystal's request, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., head of the Senate intelligence committee, and Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., head of the House Armed Services Committee.