Dems Oppose Troop Increase

If the debate over health care didn't end Obama's honeymoon with his own party, surely Afghanistan will do it. The New York Times reports that Carl Levin, the leading Senate Democrat on military matters, opposes sending more troops to Afghanistan until it's exhausted other options, such as equipping and speeding up training of Afghan forces. Nancy Pelosi also said that the president would face opposition if he tried to fulfill top Afghanistan commander Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's request for more troops. Levin and Pelosi's stance underscores the skepticism Obama is facing from inside the Democratic Party as the war in Afghanistan loses popular support. The White House looks likely to delay making a call on whether to send more troops for weeks or longer, a strategy that has the political advantage of delaying further fragmenting the party during such a sensitive time for health-care reform.