McCain calls for quick Obama decision on Afghanistan

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The latest casualties in Afghanistan have led Republicans to step up their pressure on President Barack Obama to decide what to do about Afghanistan.

“Every day that goes by without that decision being made, the more days that young Americans are unnecessarily in harm’s way,” said Arizona Sen. John McCain, Obama’s GOP opponent for president last year. “The events of the last couple of days, I believe, lend some urgency to this process. So I hope the president will make the decision as rapidly as possible.”

Eight U.S. troops were killed in southern Afghanistan in a series of bombings, making October the deadliest month in the war, now in its ninth year. The deaths brought to at least 53 the number of U.S. troops killed this month; about 900 Americans have been killed since the war began in 2001.

Obama is weighing what should be the goals of U.S. policy in Afghanistan in the wake of a resurgent Taliban. He is considering a request from his military commanders for as many as 40,000 more U.S. troops in addition to the 68,000 already authorized. The White House has said there is no schedule for when Obama will make his decision.

Two dates complicate Obama’s timing. Next Tuesday is an election day in the United States, where two gubernatorial and one congressional race are being closely watched to see if Democrats’ popularity is slipping. And, Afghanis are scheduled to go back to vote in their presidential runoff election on Nov. 7.

– Michael Muskal

Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal