Obama pressed for more detail on Taliban anecdote

Senator John Warner of Virginia is joining those sounding skepticism about a powerful anecdote that Barack Obama told during Thursday night's Democratic presidential debate.

Obama was making the point that he, unlike Hillary Clinton, opposed the Iraq war before it started and that it had diverted attention and resources from Afghanistan, where al Qaeda is resurgent.

He then related this story:

"You know, I've heard from an Army captain who was the head of a rifle platoon -- supposed to have 39 men in a rifle platoon. Ended up being sent to Afghanistan with 24 because 15 of those soldiers had been sent to Iraq. And as a consequence, they didn't have enough ammunition, they didn't have enough Humvees. They were actually capturing Taliban weapons, because it was easier to get Taliban weapons than it was for them to get properly equipped by our current commander in chief. Now, that's a consequence of bad judgment."

Conservative bloggers quickly questioned whether the anecdote was true. The Obama campaign responded by sending out a report from ABC's Jake Tapper, who said the Obama camp helped get him in touch with the Army captain in question. The captain basically backed up Obama's story, Tapper reported.

Warner, who has endorsed likely Republican nominee John McCain, sent Obama a letter seeking more information, noting that the military has regulations about using non-US weapons.

"This is a disturbing network of factual allegations," wrote Warner, who said he planned to ask Army officials about Obama's account at a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting on Tuesday.