[Marxism] Democrat Senator Calls For More Troops In Iraq

[Doug Smiley <dougsmiley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Just one reason why the Democratic Party has failed the working class.

Raise the Red Star high! Fight for Communism! Fight for the Working Class and 
not imperialist wars!
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Bayh says more U.S. troops are needed in Iraq
Senator from Indiana among a group of lawmakers that returned this week from a 
visit to the war-torn nation.

Associated Press

December 15, 2004


Sen. Evan Bayh, who returned from a visit to Baghdad this week, said today that 
more American troops were needed in Iraq to protect security as elections near.

Bayh's trip -- his first to Iraq -- was interrupted by the sounds of distant 
car bombs exploding and warnings to move away from windows for fear of them 
shattering.

Bayh flew to Iraq with Sens. John Warner, R-Va., Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John 
Cornyn, R-Texas. The four senators met with Iraqi and American leaders and U.S. 
troops in Baghdad, but a visit to Fallujah was canceled after increased 
violence there.

While the group was eating lunch in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, Bayh said, 
he could hear three dull thuds of bombs exploding in the distance. When the 
group later met with Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, he told them to 
avoid sitting by the window, since it had been shattered in a previous meeting, 
showering his guest with glass.

"It is a dangerous, violent place," Bayh said of Iraq during a news conference 
call today.

Bayh, D-Ind., said perhaps the most disturbing thing he heard on the trip was 
that some Iraqis were equating democracy with violence and lawlessness. Bayh 
said he believed too few U.S. troops were on the ground to keep things under 
control once Saddam Hussein's government was toppled 20 months ago.

"Folks begin to think that they'd like to be free, but the first thing they'd 
like to be is alive," Bayh said. "We should have erred on the side of having 
more force instead of less."

Bayh said more troops are needed in Iraq now, as the January election 
approaches.

"The election won't be perfect, but we need to go forward," Bayh said.

Bayh also said he ate dinner at an air field with about 10 Hoosiers, including 
people from Carmel, Madison, Seymour, Indianapolis, Elkhart and South Bend.

"My overwhelming first impression was how proud we can be of our service men 
and women," Bayh said. "We're there for the most idealistic of reasons. We're 
not there for oil. We're not there for empire. It is a noble cause."

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