Coleman and Klobuchar say no to an increase in troops in Iraq
GOP Senator Norm Coleman is on his way back to the United States after spending two days in Iraq. Coleman told reporters in a conference call that he does not support any plans to increase U.S. troops in the country. Here's a Coleman quote from the conference call:
"I would not support any kind of significant increase, massive increase in troops in Baghdad. I think it would create more targets and put more life at risk. And I haven't heard in my conversations with our folks in the military that there's a clear sense that having troops there is going to solve anything as a part of a long term vision for success in Iraq."
Here's an AP story on Coleman.
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DFL Senator-elect Amy Klobuchar also said today that she opposes adding more U.S. troops to Iraq. She says putting more boots on the ground is not the answer to ending the sectarian violence in that country:
"The answer to me is a different way of looking at this which is to transition to Iraqi authority which is to admit that this Administration has not been doing a good job in terms of doing the kind of oversight we need of contracts and Congress has to step in to do that so we do a better job of giving the help that we need but sending a clear message that we're gonig to be transitioning to Iraqi governance and we're not going to be there forever."
You can listen to Klobuchar on MPR's Midday program here. Even though both oppose plans to add more troops to Iraq, Coleman and Klobuchar say they would support efforts to increase the size of the military.