BAGHDAD, Oct. 11, 2007
Marines Want Out Of Iraq
Report: Top General Pushing To Redeploy Marines To Afghanistan, Leaving Iraq To Army
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Firefighters try to extinguish the flames after a suicide car bomb struck a busy market in Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007. Seven people were killed and 50 wounded in the attack. (AP Photo/Yahya Ahmed)
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A woman weeps as U.S. Army soldiers from B Troop, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry detain her male relatives in a pre-dawn raid in the Radwaniyah area of southern Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
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Detainees wait for their release from a U.S.-run facility at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Oct. 10, 2007. About 60 a day were released during Ramadan – which ended Wednesday - as a goodwill gesture by the U.S. (AP)
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Karon (left) and Nora, daughters of Marou Awanis, one of two Christian women killed Oct. 9, 2007, in Baghdad by members of a private security firm, are seen here the next day at their mother's funeral in Baghdad. (AP)
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The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James T. Conway, raised the issue with Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week, the Times reported. Senior military and Pentagon officials said supporters of the proposal, including some in the Army, believe that such a realignment could allow both services to operate more efficiently in the face of strains on the separate forces.
No major Marine units are among the 26,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan while 25,000 Marines are among the 160,000 U.S. troops there, the paper noted.
Army and Pentagon leaders have warned repeatedly that the long, deadly and repeated deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan have stretched and stressed the Army, its soldiers and its families nearly to the breaking point. And there has been ongoing debate about how the service should transform itself to better meet the challenges of future wars.
At a news conference in London, Gates played down the talk about the Marines leaving Iraq.
"I had heard that they were beginning to think about that, and that's all that I've heard," Gates said. "I've seen no plan. No one has come to me with any proposals about it. My understanding is that it's, at this point, extremely preliminary thinking on the part of perhaps the staff in the Marine Corps. But I don't think at this point it has any stature."
Gates also said he is comfortable with Britain's decision to halve its troop levels in Iraq by spring, saying the plan had been worked out jointly with U.S. commanders.
In other developments:
On Wednesday, Iraqi officials demanded answers of an Australian-owned security company blamed in the killing of two Iraqi women. The scrutiny of Unity Resources Group began a day after its guards allegedly gunned down the two Armenian Christian women in their car.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment See all 169 Comments
- "Any Cons calling the Marines cut and runners yet?
Posted by Smirk5
No, but I bet alot of you far left flies couldn''t wait for this page to open thinking, "Even the Marines want to leave because it is so politically incorrect."
I can only imagine your surprise when it turns out they were looking for a real fight (ie - things were getting boring!) - Reply to this comment
- I don''''t see how all you people think this is a knock against the war in Iraq. It''''s also just a preliminary discussion, and not like they''''re begging to get out of Iraq like some of you think. They feel it would be more efficient for the Marines to take the lead in Afghanistan and the Army take control in Iraq. The Army is better suited for the operations in Iraq, and the Marines are better suited for Afghanistan right now. It also tells me that things are getting much better in Iraq. But I''''m sure none of you can see that, despite the drastic drop of violence over the last month.
Plus, even when the Democrats admitted that the surge was working, they wanted to shift the argument to the political goals not being met. The Marines don''''t need to be there anymore, and that''''s the reason they are pushing for redeployment.
Posted by s1ckd09 at 08:06 AM : Oct 12, 2007
Ok, General s1ckd09.
What was the reason for the "surge" ??
If the surge is working - why end it ?
If the surge is working - then those political goals "should" be met !! - Reply to this comment
- I don''t see how all you people think this is a knock against the war in Iraq. It''s also just a preliminary discussion, and not like they''re begging to get out of Iraq like some of you think. They feel it would be more efficient for the Marines to take the lead in Afghanistan and the Army take control in Iraq. The Army is better suited for the operations in Iraq, and the Marines are better suited for Afghanistan right now. It also tells me that things are getting much better in Iraq. But I''m sure none of you can see that, despite the drastic drop of violence over the last month.
Plus, even when the Democrats admitted that the surge was working, they wanted to shift the argument to the political goals not being met. The Marines don''t need to be there anymore, and that''s the reason they are pushing for redeployment. - Reply to this comment
- Only the Republicans can be trusted to fight terrorism. The leak of the Bin Laden video to the media shows this with great clarity. It''s great that feeding the fox news propaganda machine with the Bin Laden tape trumped protecting sensitive information concerning Al-Qaeda.
- Reply to this comment
- Any Cons asking themselves who in the White House leaked the Bin Laden tape to the media?
- Reply to this comment
- Any Cons calling the Marines cut and runners yet?
- Reply to this comment
- I''m pretty sure the last time they polled the troops, they wanted out of Iraq then... and the year before that... and the year before that...
So many people I know signed up for the US Military to defend us against attacks, not to plunder Iraq for economic profiteering from war spending and raping that land. No WONDER they want to go to Afghanistan - to find the real killer - OJ, er, I mean Osama! - Reply to this comment
- OPPPS! AT LEAST ONE GENERAL HAS NOT BEEN BOUGHT OFF BY THE BUSHIT NEOCONS!
LETS SEE HOW LONG BEFORE THE BUSH ATTACK DOGS RUIN HIS CAREER! - Reply to this comment
- Marines want out of Iraq. This is news?
- Reply to this comment
- To the Marine Corps Commandant - Amen.
Too bad you will now have a short tenure as commandant. - Reply to this comment
- Hey, look over here!!!! The Rocky Mountain News is reporting that Bush and Cheney were pressuring Telecom agencies to start NSA spy program WAY before 9/11 even happened. It''s not about protecting us from Terrorism folks, it''s ABOUT SPYING ON AMERICANS!
Why is CBS and other major news outlets burying this story!? Why don''t they want you to know this!? - Reply to this comment
- By Ocotober 31st, I want everybody out of IRAQ, everybody, even the Iraqi''s out of Iraq and every single person is to leave !! There, just solved that problem, now its just an empty wasteland, desert, nobody there to do anything, its silent, empty, gone, situtation over !!!
- Reply to this comment
- Posted by tuckerndfw at 10:24 PM : Oct 11, 2007,
Good night "Dog Face," we''ll do it again sometime. - Reply to this comment
- Nite all.,
Posted by drummer94 at 10:09 PM : Oct 11, 2007,
Nite to you too drummer. - Reply to this comment
- Bet that made news in your town.
Posted by drummer94 at 10:01 PM : Oct 11, 2007,
Yes we did, right on the front page; the wife framed a copy and it''s hanging in our bedroom.
I''ve had my 15 minutes of fame. - Reply to this comment
- Nite all. Will "speak freely" some more manana.
- Reply to this comment
- I suggested Marines leave Iraq many many Moons ago! This is not the right mission for Marines and could actually hurt them if deployed to a real battle theater in the future. Like I mentioned many Moons ago, when the U.S. deploys Marines someone wants something to die and its really as simple as that, thats what Marines are trained for and thats what Marines do, kill s.h.i.t. and theres no need to sugarcoat it!
- Reply to this comment
- Wow. Talk about a perfect match as a couple ''eh? Bet that made news in your town.
- Reply to this comment
- Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.
I like that the most...
dscott407 - Reply to this comment
- "I won''''t ask what day because this is the I''''net, but I''''ll be 59 next month."
Posted by tuckerndfw at 09:56 PM : Oct 11, 2007,
I don''t care, it''s the 14th; I knew there was somthing about you that I liked, you''re a Scorpio too. In case you didn''t know, they rule the *** sign in the Zodiac. - Reply to this comment
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