U.S. to Hand Over Security Duties in Anbar to Iraqi Forces - The Orange Mane

ant1999e · 09-02-2008, 07:49 PM

Don't know if this has been posted yet.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews

The top Marine Corps general said yesterday that the U.S. military will hand over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces next week in Iraq's western province of Anbar, paving the way to reduce the 25,000-strong Marine contingent there and free up more Marines to go to Afghanistan.

The Marine Corps Commandant, Gen. James T. Conway, said Anbar no longer requires such a large number of Marines, who would be better employed fighting in Afghanistan, where he said the Taliban insurgency is "growing bolder."

"I do know that 25,000 Marines in a province, again, are probably in excess of the need, especially after Iraqi provincial control assumes responsibilities for security," Conway told a media roundtable at the Pentagon.

Attacks in Anbar have fallen to the lowest level since the war started in March 2003, even as thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers have withdrawn from the province this year, said Conway, who recently met with U.S. and Iraqi commanders in Anbar. -- There are now two or three attacks a day, compared with scores daily two years ago, when Anbar was one of the most dangerous provinces in Iraq.

While pointing to security gains in Iraq, Conway voiced concern over increased violence in Afghanistan, where he said insurgent attacks and U.S. troop casualties have increased since 2004.

"The Taliban are growing bolder in their tactics and clearly doing their best to exploit security gaps where they exist," he said. More foreign fighters are also flowing into Afghanistan from Pakistan, and the al-Qaeda terrorist network is shifting its focus to those countries after serious defeats in Iraq, he said.

Conway made a strong pitch to send thousands of additional Marines or other U.S. troops to Afghanistan, voicing agreement with U.S. commanders there who have said for years that they have too small a force and have called for as many as 10,000 more troops. "The economy of force is not necessarily working," Conway said.

He said the additional Marines are needed in part to replace the 3,200 in southern and western Afghanistan whose extended eight-month tour will end in late November. He warned that without reinforcements, a security vacuum will allow the Taliban to retake captured territory and persecute the population.

"We've seen families slaughtered. We've seen policemen rounded up and executed with shots to the back of the head in the soccer stadium, just to make the point. And so that's what we risk if we don't somehow take advantage of those gains and maintain the momentum in that area," Conway said.

Taliban fighters and their families are entrenched in the strips of cultivated lands in Afghan river valleys, where they have access to food, supply lines and profits from opium production, he said. A critical mass of foreign and Afghan troops is needed to defeat the insurgency by driving the Taliban from such "green zones" and into the austerity of the Afghan mountains, he said.

Marine units in the United States are stepping up their mountain training in preparation for a possible Afghanistan mission, Conway said. He noted that the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and 2nd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment were not fully trained when concerns over a Taliban spring offensive led to an "impromptu decision" to deploy them there in April.

Marine combat forces now spend as much or more time deployed than they do at home, and Conway said that given the stress on them, it would be impossible to send more Marines to Afghanistan without at least a partial drawdown from Iraq. The number of Marines deployed worldwide must fall to 15,000 before the Corps can reach its goal of giving Marines twice as much time at home as in the war zone, he said.

Nevertheless, Conway said, Marines would be better employed in combat in Afghanistan than in rebuilding Iraq.

"Young Marines join our Corps to go fight for their country," he said. "It's our view that if there is a stiffer fight going someplace else in a much more expeditionary environment . . . then that's where we need to be."

PaintballCLE · 09-02-2008, 07:54 PM

and people say we aren't making progress.........

Bronco_Beerslug · 09-02-2008, 07:56 PM

Good, there should be no problem with our leaving completely next year with all this winning and progress going on over there.

cutthemdown · 09-02-2008, 07:57 PM

We need to go and clean up Afghanistan once in for all. Now that Iraq is getting better we can really kick the crap out of the Taliban.

Oil is coming down, dollar is gaining, Iraq is winding down. All we need is for housing to pick up and for the mortgage mess to work itself out.

I think economy will be humming along by this time next year regardless of who wins the election.

I think once the mortgage mess clears up the markets will take off and we can grow the economy.

ant1999e · 09-02-2008, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bronco_Beerslug

Good, there should be no problem with our leaving completely next year with all this winning and progress going on over there.

I agree.

Garcia Bronco · 09-02-2008, 08:00 PM

Good work. I pray they can keep the peace.

Spider · 09-02-2008, 08:00 PM

Bout damn time ......... Those ****ing Iraqis take their sweet ass time to do anything ......

Bronco_Beerslug · 09-02-2008, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garcia Bronco

Good work. I pray they can keep the peace.

Impossible.

The Lone Bolt · 09-02-2008, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bronco_Beerslug

Impossible.

And you know this how?

ant1999e · 09-02-2008, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Lone Bolt

And you know this how?

Come on man, it's the frickin middle east. It isn't in their nature.

Garcia Bronco · 09-02-2008, 08:06 PM

We'll see. I think they'll be successful. Unless they have a taste for more death. I doubt they do.

Spider · 09-02-2008, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Lone Bolt

And you know this how?

Just a shot in the dark here ...... but
Thousands of years of warfare ,Assassinations, Whabbism, tribal warlords ......

defenseman · 09-02-2008, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cutthemdown

We need to go and clean up Afghanistan once in for all. Now that Iraq is getting better we can really kick the crap out of the Taliban.

Oil is coming down, dollar is gaining, Iraq is winding down. All we need is for housing to pick up and for the mortgage mess to work itself out.

I think economy will be humming along by this time next year regardless of who wins the election.

I think once the mortgage mess clears up the markets will take off and we can grow the economy.

Yep, finish up Afghan / Pakistan, hang bin laden, then, take a deep breath, it's time for "little hitler" in iran to get his...dman

Spider · 09-02-2008, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by defenseman

Yep, finish up Afghan / Pakistan, hang bin laden, then, take a deep breath, it's time for "little hitler" in iran to get his...dman

you was the last one picked in Dodge ball wasnt you

L.A. BRONCOS FAN · 09-02-2008, 08:33 PM

See?

They will be greeting us as liberators any day now...

L.A. BRONCOS FAN · 09-02-2008, 08:34 PM

BTW, isn't it about time to capture or kill al Qaeda's second in command again?

(Or should we wait 'til October?)

defenseman · 09-02-2008, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spider

you was the last one picked in Dodge ball wasnt you

NEVER....I was always the first, fastest, strongest, and MEANEST.......dman

*Best looking also, but who's counting.

defenseman · 09-02-2008, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

BTW, isn't it about time to capture or kill al Qaeda's second in command again?

(Or should we wait 'til October?)

Okay...that's funny...

...dman

Spider · 09-02-2008, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by defenseman

NEVER....I was always the first, fastest, strongest, and MEANEST.......dman

*Best looking also, but who's counting.

.....Lil sis tea partys that brutal ?

Bronco Yoda · 09-02-2008, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bronco_Beerslug

Good, there should be no problem with our leaving completely next year with all this winning and progress going on over there.

...only after confiscating all that oil money they're sitting on right now

defenseman · 09-02-2008, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spider

.....Lil sis tea partys that brutal ?

Naw, stuck with sports and women......dman

Spider · 09-02-2008, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by defenseman

Naw, stuck with sports and women......dman

......women are a sport

cutthemdown · 09-03-2008, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by defenseman

Yep, finish up Afghan / Pakistan, hang bin laden, then, take a deep breath, it's time for "little hitler" in iran to get his...dman

I'm so happy the troops did what no one said they could and that's help Iraq get stable and let the Iraqi military take over. Sure it took money and help from Sunni sects that turned over on the terrorists but who really cares? As long as they start leaving I see it as a success. The surge worked period!!! Obama was against the surge and that shows his lack of fortitude when it comes to dealing with things a President needs to deal with.

I'm still hoping we can use diplomacy to stop Iran. If we can't though we have to stop them. We can't let them develop nuclear weapons.

TailgateNut · 09-04-2008, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by defenseman

Yep, finish up Afghan / Pakistan, hang bin laden, then, take a deep breath, it's time for "little hitler" in iran to get his...dman

This is why you have that man-love thing for the Maverick/ 100 year war supporter.

Garcia Bronco · 09-04-2008, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TailgateNut

This is why you have that man-love thing for the Maverick/ 100 year war supporter.

That's not even what he said, ignant TGN

09-02-2008, 07:49 PM	#1
ant1999e Ring of Famer WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE??? Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: BFE Posts: 5,984 Adopt-a-Bronco: Money Ball	U.S. to Hand Over Security Duties in Anbar to Iraqi Forces Don't know if this has been posted yet. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews The top Marine Corps general said yesterday that the U.S. military will hand over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces next week in Iraq's western province of Anbar, paving the way to reduce the 25,000-strong Marine contingent there and free up more Marines to go to Afghanistan. The Marine Corps Commandant, Gen. James T. Conway, said Anbar no longer requires such a large number of Marines, who would be better employed fighting in Afghanistan, where he said the Taliban insurgency is "growing bolder." "I do know that 25,000 Marines in a province, again, are probably in excess of the need, especially after Iraqi provincial control assumes responsibilities for security," Conway told a media roundtable at the Pentagon. Attacks in Anbar have fallen to the lowest level since the war started in March 2003, even as thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers have withdrawn from the province this year, said Conway, who recently met with U.S. and Iraqi commanders in Anbar. -- There are now two or three attacks a day, compared with scores daily two years ago, when Anbar was one of the most dangerous provinces in Iraq. While pointing to security gains in Iraq, Conway voiced concern over increased violence in Afghanistan, where he said insurgent attacks and U.S. troop casualties have increased since 2004. "The Taliban are growing bolder in their tactics and clearly doing their best to exploit security gaps where they exist," he said. More foreign fighters are also flowing into Afghanistan from Pakistan, and the al-Qaeda terrorist network is shifting its focus to those countries after serious defeats in Iraq, he said. Conway made a strong pitch to send thousands of additional Marines or other U.S. troops to Afghanistan, voicing agreement with U.S. commanders there who have said for years that they have too small a force and have called for as many as 10,000 more troops. "The economy of force is not necessarily working," Conway said. He said the additional Marines are needed in part to replace the 3,200 in southern and western Afghanistan whose extended eight-month tour will end in late November. He warned that without reinforcements, a security vacuum will allow the Taliban to retake captured territory and persecute the population. "We've seen families slaughtered. We've seen policemen rounded up and executed with shots to the back of the head in the soccer stadium, just to make the point. And so that's what we risk if we don't somehow take advantage of those gains and maintain the momentum in that area," Conway said. Taliban fighters and their families are entrenched in the strips of cultivated lands in Afghan river valleys, where they have access to food, supply lines and profits from opium production, he said. A critical mass of foreign and Afghan troops is needed to defeat the insurgency by driving the Taliban from such "green zones" and into the austerity of the Afghan mountains, he said. Marine units in the United States are stepping up their mountain training in preparation for a possible Afghanistan mission, Conway said. He noted that the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and 2nd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment were not fully trained when concerns over a Taliban spring offensive led to an "impromptu decision" to deploy them there in April. Marine combat forces now spend as much or more time deployed than they do at home, and Conway said that given the stress on them, it would be impossible to send more Marines to Afghanistan without at least a partial drawdown from Iraq. The number of Marines deployed worldwide must fall to 15,000 before the Corps can reach its goal of giving Marines twice as much time at home as in the war zone, he said. Nevertheless, Conway said, Marines would be better employed in combat in Afghanistan than in rebuilding Iraq. "Young Marines join our Corps to go fight for their country," he said. "It's our view that if there is a stiffer fight going someplace else in a much more expeditionary environment . . . then that's where we need to be."

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09-02-2008, 07:54 PM	#2
PaintballCLE INFLITRATE ENEMY LINES Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Cleveland, Oh Posts: 3,236	and people say we aren't making progress.........

09-02-2008, 07:56 PM	#3
Bronco_Beerslug Angling in the Deep Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Texas Riviera, Southern Mountains Posts: 24,281	Good, there should be no problem with our leaving completely next year with all this winning and progress going on over there.

09-02-2008, 07:57 PM	#4
cutthemdown A verbis ad verbera Zimm to HOF Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Long Beach Posts: 32,531	We need to go and clean up Afghanistan once in for all. Now that Iraq is getting better we can really kick the crap out of the Taliban. Oil is coming down, dollar is gaining, Iraq is winding down. All we need is for housing to pick up and for the mortgage mess to work itself out. I think economy will be humming along by this time next year regardless of who wins the election. I think once the mortgage mess clears up the markets will take off and we can grow the economy.

09-02-2008, 08:00 PM	#6
Garcia Bronco Hokie since 1993 Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 45,991 Adopt-a-Bronco: Tom Jackson	Good work. I pray they can keep the peace.

09-02-2008, 08:00 PM	#7
Spider Mr Diplomacy I survived Tebow Mania at the Mane Join Date: May 2001 Location: Elway was just an arm =MacGruder Posts: 84,438 Adopt-a-Bronco: Von Miller	Bout damn time ......... Those ****ing Iraqis take their sweet ass time to do anything ......

09-02-2008, 08:06 PM	#11
Garcia Bronco Hokie since 1993 Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 45,991 Adopt-a-Bronco: Tom Jackson	We'll see. I think they'll be successful. Unless they have a taste for more death. I doubt they do.

09-02-2008, 08:33 PM	#15
L.A. BRONCOS FAN Mo' holla fo' yo' dolla! Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: In a bunker in an undisclosed location Posts: 52,694	See? They will be greeting us as liberators any day now...

09-02-2008, 08:34 PM	#16
L.A. BRONCOS FAN Mo' holla fo' yo' dolla! Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: In a bunker in an undisclosed location Posts: 52,694	BTW, isn't it about time to capture or kill al Qaeda's second in command again? (Or should we wait 'til October?)