Marines Want Out Of Iraq

What's the difference, one might ask.

The war in Afghanistan is legal, as far as anyone can prove. The war in Iraq is illegal as hell and everyone knows it.

Marine Corps wants OUT of Iraq and into Afghanistan

Is it possible for the United States Army to fight one war and the Marine corps another? Well..that's what just might occur. In a closed door session last week of the Defense Senior Leadership Conference, Defense Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen and their "regional war fighting commanders" began reviewing Marine Corps commandant General James T. Conway's proposal to shift the Marines out of Iraq and into Afghanistan.

The idea by the Marine Corps commandant would effectively leave the Iraq war in the hands of the army while giving the Marines a prominent new role in Afghanistan, under overall NATO command.
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It is not clear exactly how many of the marines in Iraq would be moved over. But the plan would require a major reshuffling, and it would make marines the dominant American force in Afghanistan
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a realignment could allow the army and Marines each to operate more efficiently in sustaining troop levels for two wars that have put a strain on their forces. iht

So..in essence the Marines are saying "get US out of here, we want our own battlefield". The realignment could face some problems, though. The Air Force might not want the Marines in Afghanistan because they might see their air power role diminished within the region.

Unlike the army, the Marines would bring a significant force of combat aircraft to that conflict.
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it would allow the Marines to carry out the Afghan mission in a way the army cannot, by deploying as an integrated Marine Corps task force that included combat aircraft as well as infantry and armored vehicles, while the army must rely on the Air Force. iht

Ugh...are we beginning to see the fight between the military services for future budgets? A turf war? After all,the Pentagon just received $190 billion more for Iraq and Afghanistan while in turn increasing the over all Pentagon budget to $459 billion. No doubt each of the military branches want their "fair" share of that money.

Military officials say the Marine proposal is also an early indication of jockeying among the four armed services for a place in combat missions in years to come. "At the end of the day, this could be decided by parochialism, and making sure each service does not lose equity, as much as on how best to manage the risk of force levels for Iraq and Afghanistan," said one Pentagon planner. iht

..and people say Iraq isn't another Vietnam...it sure feels like it.

Related posts:

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It's Official.. Petraeus is marching US towards war with Iran
Defense Department 'misplaced' 2.3 Trillion dollars


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