KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Sen. John McCain said Sunday that the situation in Afghanistan will get more difficult before it gets easier — “just like the surge in Iraq was” — as the U.S. prepares to pour thousands more troops into the country, including on the doorsteps of Kabul. The former Republican presidential candidate, who is to report back to President-elect Barack Obama, visited the southern province of Helmand, where he said NATO forces are at a stalemate with insurgents. Though Helmand has for years been the responsibility of British forces, McCain said the U.S. will focus more on the region — the heartland of the Taliban movement and a center for opium poppy production.—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at news@lsureveille