By Alabama Public Radio
Athens, AL – U-S Senator Richard Shelby is expected to visit Decatur Monday. He spent the weekend touring parts of north Alabama as part of his re-election bid. During a stop in Athens Saturday, Shelby said the United States must send more troops to the Middle East, and he says they must disarm the Iraqis, even if it means going door-to-door to do it. He says that would be dangerous, but Shelby says America cannot allow insurgents to continue killing American soldiers. Shelby supports the war in Iraq, but he says the United States was unprepared for the guerrilla warfare it faces now. He says soldiers are used to fighting other soldiers, not terrorists. He says the United States should increase the number of troops in Iraq, and Shelby says that could be done without a draft and without calling up more reserves. He suggests taking U-S- troops out of Germany and other countries where they are not needed and move them to Iraq.