Benghazi, Libya (CNN) -- Libyan opposition leaders received a major morale boost Friday when a top U.S. senator made a surprise visit to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi and urged greater American involvement in the bloody campaign to oust strongman Moammar Gadhafi. The visit from Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, came a day after the United States said it was deploying predator drones to Libya. McCain said the drones would increase NATO's capability in the war-torn North African country, but not enough to make up a shortfall in assets needed to break a "significant degree of stalemate." He said he was against U.S. troops on the ground -- echoing Obama administration policy -- but argued that Western powers need to do more to "facilitate" the delivery of weapons and training for the rebels.
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Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, says the U.S. should do more to oust Moammar Gadhafi
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McCain is a senior congressional authority of military and foreign affairs
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McCain made a surprise visit to the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Friday
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A foreign policy analyst says the visit will increase pressure on the Obama administration
"The @placeholder people support you very strongly, and we know it's necessary to help as much as we can," McCain told a woman who thanked him for U.S. support.