Pelosi: Increasing Afghan force unpopular

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated on Thursday that sending more troops to Afghanistan would garner little support amongst lawmakers.

Pelosi's comments set the stage for a possible standoff between the Obama administration, military officials, and Congress on the issue of increasing troops levels in the war-torn country. President Obama is expected to soon receive a request from the top general in the region for more soldiers.

"I don't think there's a great deal of support for sending more troops to Afghanistan in the country or in the Congress," Pelosi said, according to the AP.

The twelfth-term Democrat is the most prominent Democratic lawmaker to indicate that sending more troops to Afghanistan may face opposition in Congress.

Pelosi said that she has not yet seen the latest report from Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who is the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in the region. A follow-up to the general's current assessment is expected to ask for more ground troops.

On the other hand, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that Democrats in Congress should refrain from opining on troop levels until President Obama makes his decision.

"Let's just take it easy," Reid said. "I don't think we need 100 secretaries of state. I think we should wait and give the president an opportunity to see what he recommends, and then we can dissect that any way we want."

President Obama sent an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan earlier this year, but mounting casualties there have motivated some to call for an even larger force.