Obama: No decision yet on Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama told congressional leaders Tuesday he remains undecided on a U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan, people who were at the meeting said.

Obama said he does not plan to cut U.S. forces or change the mission to focus entirely on al-Qaida, The New York Times reported. Officials quoted him as saying he wanted to "dispense with the straw man argument that this is about either doubling down or leaving Afghanistan."

Some Democrats expressed serious misgivings about the request by top generals for a force buildup. Republicans urged the president to increase the number of troops.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who ran against Obama last year for president, said "time is not on our side" and told the president the process should not be "leisurely."

"John, I can assure you this won't be leisurely," Obama said. "No one feels more urgency to get this right than I do."

The president and Vice President Joe Biden spent 75 minutes with about 30 leaders in the State Dining Room, the Times reported.