General says troop cuts constrain Afghan training mission

WASHINGTON -- The ability to train and advise Afghan security forces will be constrained if the U.S. troop level is cut to 5,500 as President Barack Obama has proposed, the senior American commander in Afghanistan said Thursday.

Army Gen. John F. Campbell told the Senate Armed Services Committee "very little" training will be done with fewer American forces.

Campbell, who is expected to retire soon, sparred with the committee's chairman, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and other senators over the wisdom of the troop reductions.

McCain, one of Obama's harshest critics on national security issues, wanted to know whether the troop number is adequate to perform the training mission as well as counterterrorism operations, as Obama has said it would be.

Campbell said much will depend on how quickly the Afghan forces improve. If they don't, he said, the number of American troops likely will need to increase.