NEW YORK - The second ranking Republican in the Senate urged President Barack Obama not to speak of an exit strategy when he announces his Afghanistan decision Tuesday, fearing it would send a message to allies and enemies that the US isnt committed to staying in the country. I really hope we can stay away from all this talk of an exit strategy, Senator Jon Kyl told Fox News Sunday. It tells the Taliban just to lay low until we leave, he said. Kyl also said a public exit strategy would reinforce fears of the Pakistanis that the US wont stick around when the situation deteriorates. Pakistan has only begun committing to a serious effort in Afghanistan because they believed wed be there with them. We cannot leave until the mission is accomplished, and thats a message we have to send to our friends and our enemies alike, Kyl said. But Senator Evan Bayh, a Democrat, who is a member of the Armed Services Committee, said an exit strategy would put the pressure on the Karzai government and Pakistan to pick up the slack themselves. The US military shouldnt just give them an open check and say were going to be there forever, Bayh said on Fox News Sunday. The message to our allies should be that we are with you, were here for the duration as long as you do your part, Bayh said. I think thats the kind of exit strategy [Obamas] talking about. Kyl also said he hopes the president will announce a swift execution of a troop escalation, rather than a gradual build-up. Lets dont have talk of a phased deployment in which the government would send a few troops and see what happens, Kyl said. You need to put everybody you can as quickly as you can and knock out the enemy. Kyl said Obama would enjoy almost full support from Senate Republicans if he sends near the number of troops that General Stanley McChrystal, the top US Commander in Afghanistan, requested. This is not a political issue for us, Kyl said. We believe weve got to prevail over the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Bayh said he wouldnt hold the President to the 40,000-troop recommendation made by McChrystal, which he characterised as just one factor of many. These are just recommendations; theyre not the Ten Commandments, after all, Bayh said. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Obama must explain why a surge of combat troops in Afghanistan would help improve the status of Afghan forces. The key here is an Afghan surge, not an American surge, Sen Carl Levin, a Democrat, told CBSs Face the Nation. Levin said Obamas ability to earn support from his own party will depend on tying the surge to an improvement in Afghanistans military. Sen Bernie Sanders, an independent member, said on ABCs This Week that he had real concerns with sending more troops to Afghanistan. The concern in part stems from the expected cost, an estimated $1 million per troop. Sanders said the financial burden was too high with a $12 trillion debt, and that other nations should bear more of the financial burden for the war.