McCain calls for surge in Afghanistan

ALBUQUERQUE, July 15 (UPI) -- John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for U.S. president, said Tuesday the strategy that worked in Iraq can work in Afghanistan.

The Arizona senator, speaking at a town hall meeting in Albuquerque, attacked his likely opponent, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for his views on U.S. policy in the two countries.

"Senator Obama will tell you we can't win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq," McCain said. "In fact, he has it exactly backwards. It is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan. It is by applying the tried and true principles of counter-insurgency used in the surge -- which Senator Obama opposed -- that we will win in Afghanistan."

McCain said that the success of the surge in Iraq means that troops will be available for a similar increase in U.S. forces in Afghanistan. He said that NATO also needs a counter-insurgency strategy and an integrated command.