Arizona legislator back at Capitol after Iraq duty

"...state Rep. Jonathan Paton on Tuesday was still getting his bearings after returning from Army Reserve duty in Iraq...

...Paton entered the Army Reserve in 1999 and subsequently became an officer. Now a 1st lieutenant, he volunteered to be mobilized for deployment. He underwent training at Fort Benning, Ga., and Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Ariz., last summer, after the 2006 legislative session ended.

He said during the interview that he still supported the mission in Iraq but believes the U.S. should have deployed more troops initially to secure the country.

He also said that the current surge of U.S. forces should be given a chance to work. The Iraqi army would collapse within a week if the U.S. military pulls out and the result would be an ethnic cleansing-style blood bath, he said.

"All the deaths that we've seen would be a footnote and our country would be held responsible for that, and I don't think our reputation would recover," Paton said."