Coakley opposes troop increase

The frontrunner to take Ted Kennedy's Senate seat said today she opposes sending more troops to Afghanistan.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who is facing an increasingly tight race with Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), issued a statement today pre-emptively opposing the escalation President Obama is expected to announce on Tuesday.

"Based on what I know now about the President's planned troop increase, I do not believe that we should send additional troops into Afghanistan," Coakley said. 

Capuano has also come out against a surge, calling for Obama ot bring troops home. Coakley's statement may indicate she feels increasing pressure to appeal to the anti-war base.

Here's the rest of her statement:

"I believe we should begin the process of bringing our troops home. I will of course listen further to the President's address, but I remain very concerned that the case for an increase in troops has not been made.

My concern moving forward is that there is no evidence that the Afghan government, led by President Karzai, is a legitimate or trustworthy partner in these efforts.  Without a credible Afghan partner, we cannot achieve a goal of securing this country with increased troop levels and then implementing a sound exit strategy that leaves it in the hands of a stable Afghan government.”