Petraeus "KO'd" During Senate Hearing

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US top terrorist commander in Iraq and Afghanistan has fainted during a Senate hearing, as he was being grilled over the unpopular war in Afghanistan.

Almost an hour into the hearing, General David Petraeus, head of US Central Command, collapsed face down on the witness desk, as Republican senator John McCain, questioned him about the recent failures in southern Afghanistan.

The inquiry was suspended as Petraeus, a prostate cancer survivor, was led out into a private room to be checked by a military doctor.

He returned 20 minutes later, with a joke, blaming dehydration and not McCain's questions.

However, Senate Armed Services Committee's head, Carl Levin, abruptly postponed the hearing until Wednesday morning.

The hearing is being held against a backdrop of growing unease about the US-led Afghan war.

A rise in insurgency and the number of US-led troops' casualties, along with growing tensions between Washington and Kabul, have cast doubt over US President Barack Obama's strategy in Afghanistan.

This comes as US invader forces prepare for a much-publicized offensive against the Taliban in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar.

"I am deeply concerned about our campaign in Afghanistan. Many of the key trends seem to be heading in a bad direction, perhaps even signaling a mounting crisis," McCain told the congressional hearing.

McCain and his democratic colleague, Levin, also urged Obama to reconsider his July 2011 timeline to begin withdrawing US forces from Afghanistan, calling it "simply unrealistic".

There are currently nearly 130,000 US-led terrorists in Afghanistan. US terrorist troops comprise about two-thirds of the entire foreign invaders contingent deployed there.

Obama has ordered the deployment of 30,000 more terrorists to the country by August despite the recent rise in casualties.