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 . `` We have prevented the worst outcome in Libya , '' McCain told reporters . `` Now we need to increase our support so that the Libyan people can achieve the only satisfactory outcome to this mass protest for universal rights -- the end of Gadhafi 's rule and the beginning of a peaceful and inclusive transition to democracy that will benefit all Libyans . '' McCain , the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee , is a former presidential nominee and decorated Navy veteran . The five-term senator is considered a senior congressional spokesman on military and foreign policy matters . McCain is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Libya since the conflict erupted in February . During his visit , he challenged critics of NATO 's intervention to tour Benghazi and see a `` powerful and hopeful example of what a free Libya can be . '' The senator was greeted by a crowd of roughly 100 Libyans waving American flags . `` Thank you John McCain ! Thank you Obama , '' people chanted . `` Thank you America ! We need freedom ! Gadhafi go away ! '' McCain visited Benghazi 's Freedom Square , accompanied by , among others , Abdul Hafiz Ghoga , deputy chairman of the opposition Transitional National Council . He paused at a courthouse wall covered with scores of pictures of people allegedly killed by Gadhafi 's forces and others who have gone missing since uprisings began . `` The American 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 . As McCain met with the rebels , miles away in western Libya , a fierce battle continued to rage for control of Misrata , the country 's third-largest city . Misrata has been under siege for seven weeks by Gadhafi loyalists . `` Let 's face it . This is not a fair fight , '' McCain asserted . `` Maybe we should be doing everything we can to help these people and maybe we 're not , and they 're dying . '' While McCain insisted he would not have gone to Libya without the backing of the White House , a top Middle East analyst told CNN the senator 's trip would increase the pressure on President Barack Obama to step up U.S. involvement . McCain `` brings more limelight to the rebels , '' said Michael Rubin , a Middle East scholar with the American Enterprise Institute , a conservative Washington think tank . `` His visit forces some American officials to reconsider their assessment of the rebels . '' `` The fact that McCain was able to conduct this meeting shows a modicum of organization ( among the rebels ) and also raises the question : if McCain can meet the people for whom we are fighting , why not Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ? Why not Vice President Joe Biden ? '' If McCain returns to Capitol Hill and demands formal recognition of the rebel government as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people , it is certain to shift the debate on U.S. diplomatic posture , Rubin said . If all opponents of the intervention `` have done is sit back comfortably in Washington , it will be harder for them to drum up moral authority to back their arguments , '' he noted . Asked by CNN to define the U.S. end game in Libya , McCain said he envisions `` a departure of Moammar Gadhafi and the Libyan people being able to set up a government by themselves , with the assistance primarily of the Europeans but also the United States of America . '' `` Libya is much closer to Europe , and Europeans have greater ties to Libya and greater interests , '' McCain noted . The United Nations has sanctioned military action only to protect civilians . Both American and European leaders , however , have repeatedly stated that their political goal is the ouster of Gadhafi . What would the Gadhafi 's departure mean ? `` It means one of three things , '' McCain said . `` He joins Hugo Chavez in Venezuela or he goes to International Criminal Court , which is my preference , or he joins Hitler and Stalin . '' The senator noted that rebel leaders have insisted Gadhafi step down from power , significantly reducing the chances for a political settlement . When Gadhafi 's forces were outside Benghazi , the dictator said he `` was going to go house to house and kill every person that he could , '' McCain added . `` There is no doubt what Col. Gadhafi will do to his own people if he has the opportunity . ... That 's not a settlement . That 's a massacre . '' McCain defended the track record of predator drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan , arguing that their use has only resulted in civilian deaths when targets have been misidentified . Contacted by CNN , McCain 's office declined to state how the senator 's surprise trip was funded . CNN 's Moni Basu , Reza Sayah , and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report .
Sen. John McCain , R-Arizona , says the U.S. should do more to oust Moammar Gadhafi . The Associated Press contributed to this report. McCain made a surprise visit to the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Friday . A foreign policy analyst says the visit will increase pressure on the Obama administration .