Baird sees need for longer U.S. role in Iraq

Source: The Olympian

U.S. Rep. Brian Baird said Thursday that his recent trip to Iraq convinced him the military needs more time in the region, and that a hasty pullout would cause chaos that helps Iran and harms U.S. security.

"I believe that the decision to invade Iraq and the post-invasion management of that country were among the largest foreign-policy mistakes in the history of our nation. I voted against them, and I still think they were the right votes," Baird said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C.

"But we're on the ground now. We have a responsibility to the Iraqi people and a strategic interest in making this work."

Baird, a five-term Democrat, voted against President Bush ordering the Iraq invasion — at a time when he was in a minority in Congress and at risk of alienating voters. He returned late Tuesday from a trip that included stops in Israel, Jordan and Iraq, where he met troops, U.S. advisers and Iraqis, whose stories have convinced him that U.S. troops must stay longer.

Read more: http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/192500.html

Or he's been brainwashed by the military (like Mitt Romney's father in '68). Or he has a giant wad of GOP cash in his back pocket. Either way, he better be gone next election.

Bush really harmed the U.S. when he lied to us to get us to support his going in there. The real question is not whether we will be helping or not helping Iran if we leave, but whether it is worth our time, money and effort to stay. Wouldn't we be much better off if we focus on becoming independent from Middle Eastern oil and also on creating strong alliances with countries that are democratic and countries that become democratic by their own volition?