http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16062351/site/newsweek/ [color:"white"]
?We Can?t Afford to Leave?As the debate over Iraq intensifies, leading Democrat Silvestre Reyes is calling for the deployment of more U.S. troops.
Dec. 5. 2006 - In a surprise twist in the debate over Iraq, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, the soon-to-be chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said he wants to see an increase of 20,000 to 30,000 U.S. troops as part of a stepped up effort to ?dismantle the militias.?
The soft-spoken Texas Democrat was an early opponent of the Iraq war and voted against the October 2002 resolution authorizing President Bush to invade that country. That dovish record got prominently cited last week when Speaker designate Nancy Pelosi chose Reyes as the new head of the intelligence panel.
But in an interview with NEWSWEEK on Tuesday, Reyes pointedly distanced himself from many of his Democratic colleagues who have called for fixed timetables for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Coming on the eve of tomorrow?s recommendations from the bipartisan Baker-Hamilton commission, Reyes?s comments were immediately cited by some Iraq war analysts as fresh evidence that the intense debate over U.S. policy may be more fluid than many have expected.
?We?re not going to have stability in Iraq until we eliminate those militias, those private armies,? Reyes said. ?We have to consider the need for additional troops to be in Iraq, to take out the militias and stabilize Iraq ? We certainly can?t leave Iraq and run the risk that it becomes [like] Afghanistan? was before the 2001 invasion by the United States.
Reyes also stressed that there needed to be greater ?political accountability? demanded of the Iraqi government. But on the core issue of the U.S. commitment, Reyes?a Vietnam War veteran who partially lost his hearing in that conflict?even compared his position to that of another Vietnam vet, Sen. John McCain, a staunch supporter of the Iraq war. Like Reyes, McCain also has called for an increase in U.S. troop strength. When asked how many additional troops he envisioned sending to Iraq, Reyes replied: ?I would say 20,000 to 30,000?for the specific purpose of making sure those militias are dismantled, working in concert with the Iraqi military.?
