WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Washington D.C. heard contrary rhetoric on the need to send more American troops to Afghanistan from the Defense Department and Congress on Tuesday as President Barack Obama is contemplating a new plan to win the eight-year war in the country.

    Speculation has been on before and after Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. top commander in Afghanistan, submitted the assessment report that the military is likely to request more troops deployed to defeat Taliban's resurgence, though Obama has promised earlier this year to send an additional 21,000 troops to the war worn country by the end of the year.

    For the first time, the military sent a clear message on Tuesday that a proper effort to counter the Taliban insurgency "probably means more forces."

    At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: "It's very clear to me that we will need more resources" to carry out Obama's new strategy in Afghanistan issued earlier this year.

    However, Mullen did not say how many more troops would be requested, a question which he said would be debated in the coming weeks.

    His remarks were endorsed by the top Republican lawmaker in the panel, Senator John McCain. He said, "Too few forces to the war would invite a rerun of mistakes the U.S. made in Iraq."

    But congressional Democrats remained skeptical and opposed to the possibility of sending more troops to Afghanistan before the government proposes a detailed plan to win the war.

    Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, a Democrat, argued that to demonstrate the resolve in the war, the United States should provide "the resources needed for the Afghan army and Afghan police to become self-sufficient," which would demonstrate "our commitment to the success of a mission that is in our national security interest," not just expansion of the size of its troops there.

    Earlier this week, other Democratic congressional leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Party Leader Harry Reid, also urged the Obama administration to come up with a plan to win the increasingly unpopular war before requesting more resources.

    However, the Obama administration, which is trying to press ahead with the healthcare reform in Congress and among the public, has not yet comment on McChrystal's assessment report and a possible request for more resources put in the war.

    At the State Department, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters on Tuesday that the administration would be deliberating on next steps in Afghanistan "for some time."

    According to congressional sources, McChrystal was scheduled to brief key lawmakers on his assessment report Wednesday.

    The United States currently has about 65,000 troops in Afghanistan, and a few thousand additional trainers were due by the end of this year.