parallel just does n't work, Gates said. The reality is the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. They killed a million Afghans. They made 5 million refugees out of Afghanis. In addition, he said, the Soviets acted unilaterally, while the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan involves 42 countries with a mandate from NATO. In Congress, Republicans generally backed Obama's deployment plan but complained that announcing the start of a withdrawal was a signal to the enemy of a compromised commitment. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the unsuccessful GOP presidential candidate last year, told NBC's Meet the Press that a strategy must be flexible to succeed, rather than limited by a set timetable. On FOX News Sunday, Sen. Dick Durbin, the chamber's second-ranking Democrat, called the July 2011 start of a withdrawal a necessary signal to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. According to Durbin, Obama's message to Karzai was: We 're not going to make Afghanistan a protectorate of the United States. You have to change your government. You have to show that you are willing to stand up and fight for your own country. I think that message is long overdue, Durbin said.