Senate will hold hearing on new Afghan strategy

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday into President Barack Obama's military strategy in Afghanistan.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen will appear before the committee at 9:00 to discuss the Obama administration's new strategy.

Obama will lay out his strategy for U.S. troops in Afghanistan during a prime time address from West Point on Tuesday night. The president is expected to call for an increase in troops tied to a long-term strategy for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday that the president ordered military commanders on Sunday night to begin implementing the strategy he'll outline tomorrow night.

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, has been somewhat skeptical of the wisdom of a surge in U.S. troops.

“The key here is an Afghan surge, not an American surge,” the senator said on Sunday.