13 December 2007
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has decided against Marine Corps plans to leave Iraq to take over American operations in Afghanistan, leaving the Army to take over in Iraq. Gates said that the situation in western Iraq, where the Marines now operate in Anbar Province, is too volatile to make such a significant change. The ground combat mission in Iraq is shared by the Army and the Marine Corps.
The Marine Corps commandant thinks an integrated “air-ground task force†of Marine infantry, attack aircraft and logistics could carry out the mission in Afghanistan with counterinsurgency lessons learned by marines in Anbar. He also felt that the Army and the Marines would operate more efficiently in sustaining troop levels for two wars that have put a strain on their forces. The Marine Corps proposal might eventually be adopted, but that decision would be left up to military commanders and the next defense secretary.
At this time, there are no major Marine units among the 26,000 or so American forces in Afghanistan. In Iraq, among the approximately 160,000 American troops here are about 25,000 marines and it appears that additional Marine units will not be needed in Afghanistan in the near future.
Some officials in the Air Force feared that its mission in Afghanistan could be ended if the mission went to the Marines, who deploy with their own tactical fighter and attack combat aircraft. I think that all this concern has to do with war funding and who gets what. Marine Corps officials said that their proposal was based solely on military logic and efficiency.
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