[Wolf Blitzer, Host, The Situation Room:] Happening now, a new warning that war in Afghanistan may be lost. This hour, the top U.S. commander's powerful appeal for more U.S. troops. The leaked report putting more pressure on the president to act and to act fast. Torrential rains and rising floodwaters in parts of the southeast. Hundreds of thousands of people are facing dangerous, even deadly conditions. CNN weather experts are tracking the deluge in their own back yard. And President Obama's awkward landing in New York. He comes face to face with the embattled governor after reportedly trying to push him aside. It's an election dilemma for Democrats right now. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. No wonder the Obama administration wanted to keep a just-leaked report on Afghanistan under wraps. The top U.S. military commander comes close to delivering an ultimatum. He says he needs more troops, lots more troops, and he also needs a new strategy or the 8-year-old war may end in failure. Dramatic stuff coming in from Afghanistan. Our Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence, is joining us now with more details. Chris, tell us what's going on.
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Wolf, General Stanley McChrystal says it is still possible to win in Afghanistan, but this leaked report certainly ratchets up the pressure on the Obama administration.
[Lawrence:] For U.S. troops, a sobering 66 pages meant to be confidential but leaked to "The Washington Post." In it the U.S. commander says the Afghan government is corrupt, insurgents have turned prisons into recruiting stations, and they contest or control a significant part of Afghanistan. General Stan McChrystal says he needs more troops and civilian advisers soon. McChrystal doesn't spell out his specific needs but writes, "Time matters." The general says if he can't regain the initiative within a year, it might not be possible to defeat the insurgency. "Any of these risks are likely to result in mission failure." McChrystal says there's no point adding troops if officials don't buy into a new strategy. McChrystal writes that his commanders have been more concerned with protecting their own forces than the Afghan people. In a significant change, he says American troops have to assume more risk and spend "... as little time as possible in armored vehicles or behind the walls of forward operating bases." This leaked report puts more pressure on the Obama administration. Last week in Iraq, Vice President Biden told me they wanted to hold off on making an additional troop decision until all previously authorized troops arrive and the contested Afghan election is decided. [on camera]: Do you think that more troops are needed to win?
[Joseph Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] Well, I think that's premature.
[Lawrence:] McChrystal says resources alone won't win the war, but under-resourcing could lose it. President Obama told CNN's John King he won't decide on troop levels until the goals and strategy are clearly defined.
[Barack H. Obama, President Of The United States:] When we have clarity on that, then the question is, OK, how do we resource it? And what I will say to the American public, it's not going to be driven by the politics of the moment.
[Lawrence:] Now, the vice president told me over and over again that the ultimate objective is not the Taliban, but al Qaeda, which is now predominantly based in Pakistan. There is a line of thinking that says a minimum number of NATO troops could keep al Qaeda out of Afghanistan, leaving the Taliban to do what it will as long as that doesn't include planning attacks abroad Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon for us. Thank you. Republican Senator John McCain says the Obama administration is putting tens of thousands of U.S. troops in danger by delaying a decision on its Afghanistan strategy. In a statement to CNN today, McCain wrote this: "As soon as the decision is made, the sooner we can implement a strategy that will allow us to reverse the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. General Petraeus and General McChrystal should immediately be called to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on this vital issue. Our Dana Bash says Democrats on the Armed Services Committee are working with McCain on a letter urging chairman Carl Levin to call the generals to testify. Levin told CNN's John King yesterday that he wanted to wait, at least for now. An update now on the disputed presidential election in Afghanistan and allegations of widespread vote fraud. A U.N.-backed panel has agreed to allow a recount of a sampling of hundreds of thousands of suspicious ballots. That will be quicker than a full recount, which could take up to three months. Preliminary results from the August 20th vote show President Hamid Karzai winning with over 54 percent of the vote, but if enough votes are thrown out, he could fall below the 50 percent mark and be forced into a runoff against his main challenger, the former foreign minister, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. President Obama is on the road pitching his plans to turn around the economy. In a pep talk at Hudson Valley Community College, the president urged a greater commitment to scientific research.
[Obama:] When we fail to invest in research, we fail to invest in the future. Yet, since the peak of the space race in the 1960s, our national commitment to research and development has steadily fallen as a share of our national income. And that's why I set a goal of putting a full three percent of our gross domestic product, our national income, into research and development, surpassing the commitment we made when President Kennedy challenged this nation to send a man to the moon.
[Blitzer:] The president certainly has a big week ahead. On Wednesday, he makes his United Nations debut with both the Libyan and Iranian leaders planning to attend. The White House will be carefully trying to choreograph the president's schedule. Then on Thursday, it's on to the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. President Obama and other world leaders will gather there to discuss the global economic crisis. New York's Governor David Paterson says he still wants to be the Democratic candidate for governor next year despite the White House reportedly trying to push him aside. Our White House Correspondent Dan Lothian has more on the election dilemma facing Democrats Dan.
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Wolf, the president's visit to New York was supposed to be about clean jobs, about important global issues like climate change and Mideast peace, and even a sit-down interview with David Letterman. But instead, the Governor Paterson story is stealing a lot of the focus. This, after a story that Mr. Obama had been urging the governor to not run for a re-election, to drop out of the race because of his low poll numbers. There's concern that he could pull down other key Democratic seats and give Republicans the advantage. Well, no sign of any friction as the president arrived in Albany. He greeted the governor. They hugged and then talked for a few minutes. And then later, before the president delivered some remarks on innovation on the economy at a community college, he had kind words for the governor, calling him "a wonderful man." Robert Gibbs was asked about this story aboard Air Force One. He did not confirm that the president had directly appealed to the governor to drop out of the race. Instead, he pointed out that it was a difficult situation going on in the state of New York. And another senior administration official pointing out that there is a lot of concern about the political climate in the state of New York, but that no one has ordered Paterson to get out of the race Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Dan Lothian on the scene for us. Thank you. The former Republican congressman Rick Lazio is expected to formally announce that he's running for governor of the state of New York as early as tomorrow. The announcement comes as former New York city mayor and 2008 GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani also contemplates this own bid for the governor's office and the Republican Party nomination. Three natives of Afghanistan now suspects in a U.S. terrorism probe are making their first court appearances today. CNN's Deb Feyerick is covering this story for us. Deb, what happened today?
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, here's what we can tell you. The 37-year-old imam, Ahmad Afzali, entered the courthouse. He smiled at his family sitting in the front row, later blowing kisses to his wife and father who there were. The judge read the charges against him, which include making false and fictitious statements. The court entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors are detaining him right now without bail. There will be a hearing on Thursday, and his own lawyer plans to present a detective from the Joint Terrorism Task Force to testify in Afzali's behalf. Now, his lawyer says that rather than as authorities allege or the big question is that the imam did not take part in tipping off two Denver suspects, according to Ron Kuby, Afzali's lawyer. He says that the imam was actually trying to help federal investigators.
[Ron Kuby, Afzali's Attorney:] The authorities generally requested that the imam find out any way he can where Zazi is, where he's been, where he's going, and what he is up to. That's what they wanted to know, and that makes sense, because they thought he was coming to New York for the purpose of carrying out a terrorist attack.
[Feyerick:] Now, a long-time friend who spoke to Afzali says that helping terrorists is not in the imam's character. That, in fact, he willingly let FBI agents search his house. He waived his Miranda rights. His lawyers saying that he gave DNA samples, even allowed agents to take a sketch of his shoe, an imprint of his shoe. So, his lawyer says this is likely to have a chilling effect on those who do want to help the government because now his lawyer says Afzali is a target. Back to you, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right, Deb. Thanks very much. And in the 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour, we're going to be speaking with Ron Kuby, the lawyer for the imam Ahmad Afzali. In the meantime, let's got to Jack Cafferty. He's got "The Cafferty File" Jack.
[Jack Cafferty, Cnn Anchor:] Wolf, thank you. Military commanders on the ground in Afghanistan are about to force President Obama to do something he'd probably rather not do make a decision. The day of reckoning has been coming for a while now. The death toll of American troops continuing to rise there. The Taliban strengthening their hold on ever-larger parts of the country, and the effectiveness of the Karzai government when it comes to troops and security remains very much in doubt. History suggests Afghanistan is a tough nut to crack. Ask the Russians. And to think you can do it on the cheap, with limited budgets and a limited number of troops, that's just plain ludicrous. In effect, the White House is being told by the people fighting the war, either come up with a strategy that has a chance of working and commit enough troops to make it happen, or resign yourself to the same failure that all foreign invaders of Afghanistan have ultimately come face to face with. It's time then for the administration to stop equivocating. First, we heard a decision on troops is "weeks and weeks away." Then we were told there are no plans for additional troops for Afghanistan. But the people fighting this war say without them there are no plans for victory either. Since World War II, this country has failed to achieve victory in Korea, in Vietnam and in Iraq, and the polls indicate the American people are not eager to commit the resources that might be necessary to win this one either. Here's the question. What should President Obama do when commanders are saying the mission in Afghanistan will fail unless they get more troops? Go to CNN.comcaffertyfile. Post a comment on my blog.
[Blitzer:] A lot of people are frustrated, Jack, because you know what? Eight years into this war, where are the Afghan troops after the U.S. helped liberate Afghanistan? Where are they, and where are the NATO allies in all of this? They certainly could be providing a whole lot more troops. Yet, when all the dust settles, everyone always comes back to the United States.
[Cafferty:] Well, and the other part of the story is that after 911, we went into Afghanistan and probably had a pretty good chance of maybe doing away with a lot of the problems when it comes to al Qaeda and the Taliban. But instead, we decided to invade Iraq, and now it's almost nine years later. Who knows where Osama bin Laden and the rest of al Qaeda are? A lot of people think they are in Pakistan. And we're stuck in a quagmire there with no way out, at least that we can see from here.
[Blitzer:] Key word "stuck." You're absolutely right.
[Cafferty:] Absolutely.
[Blitzer:] All right, Jack. Thank you. Former presidential candidate John Edwards still feeling the fallout from an extramarital affair. Why do some politicians move past scandal and others can't? And the filmmaker Michael Moore is taking on the establishment again. This time the entire capitalist system. We're going to hear from him. That's coming up right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.