PlusObama, McCain Find Common Ground on AfghanistanObama, McCain Find Common Ground on AfghanistanThe Associated PressBarack Obama and John McCain both agree that the U.S. needs to send more troops to Afghanistan. However, they continue to disagree over the future of America's involvement in Iraq. (July 15)[Notes:ANCHOR VOICE] [Notes:dual video of Obama and McCain]John McCain and Barack Obama have found some common ground. [Notes:Afghanistan file]Both presidential candidates are calling for the U-S to step up its efforts fighting terrorism in Afghanistan. SOTJohn McCain"our commanders on the ground in Afghanistan say they need at least three additional brigades. Thanks to the success of the surge, these bridages are becoming available and our commanders must get them."SOTBarack Obama"i will send at least two additional combat brigades to afghanistan, and use this to commitment to seek greater commitments with fewer restrictions from our nato allies" These committments come just days after nine U-S soldiers were killed in Afghanistan Sunday, military's highest death toll there in three years.Obama has long maintained that the Iraq war has distracted the U-S from other threats, including a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.SOTBarack Obama By any measure, our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe.Obama will visit both Iraq and Afghanistan later this month as part of the first foreign trip of his presidential campaign. He plans to meet with U-S commanders in the region, as well as Iraqi and Afghan leaders. The A-P's former Baghdad bureau chief Steve Hurst has been talking to officials on the ground in Iraq about what message they plan to give Obama. SOTSteve Hurst "the officials there say essentially we believe we still need a bit more time before we begin the withdrawal process and we think that rushing this could upset the progress that has been made. If obama were to be elected, and he were to say we're going to begin withdrawing troops and they'll be gone within 16 months, then that becomes our mission"Hurst says that while there's value in Obama traveling to Iraq, the heavy security likely to accompany him will make it difficult for him to get a true picture of the situation on the ground. SOT Steve Hurst "They breeze into a baghdad neighborhood, or another town, and they're accompanied by security reasons by vast numbers of US forces...So what these people see is not necessarily the reality in that neighborhood or in that town"Obama's opposition to the war is well-known.He says he plans to withdraw combat troops within 16 months of becoming president.McCain calls Obama's plan misguided. He says withdrawing troops is tantamount to declaring defeat. ___ ___, The Associated Press.