The Marine Corps is making a bid to take over the command and primary mission of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, anticipating a gradual withdrawal of its troops from Iraq's western province of Anbar, senior military and Pentagon officials said.
The proposal, discussed at senior levels of the Pentagon last week, would have the Marine Corps replace the Army as the lead U.S. force in Afghanistan, where U.S. troops number more than 25,000 and make up the largest contingent of the NATO-led force there. No major Marine Corps combat units are deployed to Afghanistan, although recently Marine special operations units have served there.
Marines are apparently enthusiastic. No doubt.
Secretary Gates says it is hardly a done deal and just a suggestion.
This only highlights my opinion, in Joint Force Quarterly, that amphibious operations are a traditional mission of the Marines, but one that exists in its current primacy only because of the World War II Pacific campaign. You can't get much further away from the shores of wherever than by deploying to inland and mountainous Afghanistan.
Even aside from the idea that Marines would want to fight in the "good war" only, this doesn't make a lot of sense. Afghanistan requires a lot of airmobile activity which is an Army strength.
Further, the Marines won't get opportunities to use their urban warfare and pacification skills honed in Iraq out in the Afghanistan boonies.
And streamlining operations won't happen. Army units will still be needed to provide logistics and other support for Marine combat units in Afghanistan. And in the mish mash of NATO countries involved, having only Marine combat regiments instead of Army brigades will not improve cohesion or efficiency to any measurable degree. Heck, haven't we been preaching jointness for twenty years?
Still, it makes sense for Marines to redeploy out of Anbar as that success is consolidated. I'd feel better if that redeployment was to southern Iraq or Kuwait.
UPDATE: Like I said, it doesn't make sense to conclude that the Marines are trying to escape Iraq because they think it is a failure or from fear. But that doesn't stop some Lefties from arguing this case.
While I may suspect that at least some Marines might be angling for greater shots at glory in a more popular fight, the idea that Marines would shrink from a losing fight even if they thought we were losing in Iraq is ludicrous.
