Retired general questions White House resolve on Afghanistan

Two retired generals stressed the need for action in Afghanistan on Sunday, with the former Southern Commander in the Clinton administration questioning the current administration's resolve to see the conflict through to a successful end.

Gen. Barry McCaffrey, who was also drug czar under President Bill Clinton from 1996 to 2001, noted on "Meet the Press" that President Barack Obama faces the challenge of making the right decision on Afghanistan without the support of the his party or the country.

"The question is, do we have the resolve to build a viable state in Afghanistan," McCaffrey said.

"I don't see how the president can't back up his ground commander," McCaffrey added, referencing Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for 40,000 troops in Afghanistan.

McCaffrey opined that the war was understaffed from the start.

Former Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff in the Bush administration Gen. Richard Myers, who noted that the economic and political development in Afghanistan is lagging, said the U.S. should be seeking troop commitments from allies, as well.

Myers said that the execution of the war was wrong, and now the Taliban has re-emerged and the Kabul government has weakened.

Responding to reports that Obama intends to put the focus on fighting al-Qaeda over the Taliban, Myers warned that "the central front is against violent extremism."

"It's more than Afghanistan," Myers said, noting the regional extremism in Pakistan and Uzbekistan.