"People talked about how good of a commander he's got in the field and [Obama] agreed. People said he ought to put a lot of stock in what that commander says, and he agreed with that. Of course, others pointed out that there's a chain of command above McChrystal that he ought to listen to, and he agreed with that as well," Levin said.
But Levin said that story was overblown and that the president and his field commander are on the same page.
"There's no rift with McChrystal," said Levin, "[Obama] said he picked McChrystal and he wants McChrystal to be direct ... He reiterated that McChrystal is very supportive of the deliberative process and getting the strategy right before focusing on the troop levels or resources."
Someone who is not on the same page as McChrystal is Levin himself, who said he told Obama clearly at the large meeting and during a private conversation afterwards that he was opposed to sending more combat troops past what it would take to protect additional trainers for the Afghan security forces.
"I don't think we should be sending in more combat troops, because the downsides of doing that outweigh the additional value," Levin said, who added that "A lot of Republicans spoke as if they very much support what he is trying to do, in terms of the general direction in which he's heading."
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