McCain wants McChrystal to testify

Senior Senate Republicans on Wednesday pressed their case for more U.S. troops in Afghanistan, taking steps to force Army General Stanley McChrystal to testify on Capitol Hill.

Stepping into the broading rift over troop levels, 2008 GOP presidential candidate John McCain (R-Ariz.) told reporters he plans to file an amendment to compel McChrystal to appear before the Armed Services Committee he co-chairs, and that he agrees with McChrystal's preference for 40,000 more troops to be sent to the region.

"The fact is, during the campaign and as short as a month ago, the president said this was a war of necessity, and one we cannot afford to lose," McCain said. "We cannot afford to have the Taliban regain control of Afghanistan... I think it's pretty obvious we should have Gen. McChrystal and Gen. (David) Petraeus up here to testify."

An internal assessment of the war in Afghanistan was leaked last week, with media reports zeroing in on McChrystal's request for the additional troops. Obama already sent 21,000 troops to Afghanistan in January but has been under increasing pressure to send more.

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