WASHINGTON (CN) - As President Barack Obama decides whether to send more soldiers to Afghanistan, experts testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday said such a move would backfire and advised largely against it. As one expert put it, "There is no possible way for the United States to supply enough troops to pacify the situation."
General Stanley McChrystal, NATO's top commander in Afghanistan, has requested 40,000 additional American troops, but Obama has hesitated and may be considering other options.
There are roughly 62,000 American troops already in Afghanistan. But a question quickly arose over whether the United States has already achieved its goal.
Obama has said the goal in Afghanistan is to "disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda."
"I think we've achieved it," said Milton Bearden, a retired Central Intelligence Agency officer, referring to the al Qaeda organization of Arab fighters, in contrast to the more home-grown, fundamentalist Taliban.
From another witness's perspective, Afghanistan has been a losing battle for many years, with a permanent Taliban presence now in 70 percent of the country, up from last year's 60 percent.
And former Pakistani Ambassador to the United States, Maleeha Lodhi, said she thinks the objective of the United States is now "the avoidance of defeat."
Massachusetts Democratic Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, John Kerry, agreed with Bearden that al Qaeda isn't in Afghanistan anymore, but questioned if the United States has achieved its goal. He said the United States might want to keep a presence in Afghanistan in order to keep al Qaeda at bay.
Here again, Bearden appeared to have no worries. "I don't see all those planets lining up again ever," he said.
Former Pakistani ambassador Lodhi agreed. "Al Qaeda exists more as an idea today," Lodhi said in a slightly British accent, noting that its ability to mount large attacks has been degraded.
None of the experts, however, suggested a rapid pull-out from Afghanistan.
During the Senate hearing on Thursday, more questions were asked than were answered. Experts agreed that the United States is in a difficult situation in Afghanistan, and they were quick to offer philosophical advice, but appeared to have trouble suggesting specifically what the United States should do.
Lodhi from Pakistan, and Bearden of the CIA stressed the importance of perception and downplayed the importance of military involvement.
Bearden suggested that an escalation would backfire. "There will not be a military solution," he said. "That number will be matched by those who oppose the troops."
"There is no possible way for the United States to supply enough troops to pacify the situation," Bearden said. He estimated that roughly 500,000 troops would be needed to pacify the region, something he said could only be done with a draft.
Lodhi in turn predicted that an escalation would result in "intensified fighting," more casualties, and an overall escalation of the war.
New America Foundation President Steve Coll, the only expert not completely against an escalation, suggested the extra troops might not be necessary. "I'm just not clear about what the additional troops will be doing," he said.