Marines seek transfer from Iraq to Afghanistan

What should we make of yesterday's news that the Marines have requested a shift from Iraq to Afghanistan? ("Marines Press to Remove Their Forces From Iraq, (NYT) Oct 11)

Noah Schactman of "The Danger Room" (Wired) posts some perspectives:

• Air Force officer John Noonan: "it makes sense from an air war perspective. The Marines have self-contained air wings, Harriers, Cobras, Hornets, etc that should fill the Afghan mission nicely. That leaves the Air Force to support the Army in Iraq."
• The LA Times " portrays the Marines' proposal in a much different light": the Corps is arguing that since combat is winding down in Anbar they are eager to take on Afghanistan, where combat is escalating.
• Schactman himself observes that "The shift would also allow the Marines to "declare victory" in Anbar, while things are calm there.   If the province starts to unravel later... well, hey, that was the Army's fault."
• Click below to read the Times article...MORE

Photo: U.S. Marines (3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment) in Sept 2004 preparing for a Chinook insertion to the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. Today there are no major Marine deployments in Afghanistan. Photo by Lance Cpl. Justin M. Mason

Marines Press to Remove Their Forces From Iraq, (NYT) Oct 11, By THOM SHANKER. WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 — The Marine Corps is pressing to remove its forces from Iraq and to send marines instead to Afghanistan, to take over the leading role in combat there, according to senior military and Pentagon officials. 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.

The suggestion was raised in a session last week convened by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and regional war-fighting commanders. While still under review, its supporters, including some in the Army, argue that 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.

As described by officials who had been briefed on the closed-door discussion, the idea represents the first tangible new thinking to emerge since the White House last month endorsed a plan to begin gradual troop withdrawals from Iraq, but also signals that American forces likely will be in Iraq for years to come.

At the moment, there are no major Marine units among the 26,000 or so American forces in Afghanistan. In Iraq there are about 25,000 marines among the 160,000 American troops there. MOREIt 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, in a war that has broader public support than the one in Iraq....The Marine Corps has recently played the leading combat role in Anbar Province, the restive Sunni area west of Baghdad.