Marines plan next moves after Anbar success

[unhappycamper]

Marines plan next moves after Anbar success
By Bryan Mitchell - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Sep 8, 2008 17:34:56 EDT

With the Corps’ mission in Iraq’s Anbar province all but stamped with the seal of success, Commandant Gen. James Conway is again positioning his service to take on a larger role in fighting a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan, where about 3,500 Marines have fought throughout much of 2008.

The handoff of Iraqi provisional control over Anbar occurred during the first week of September, with the 28,000-strong Anbar police force and the Iraqi military officially assuming responsibility for securing the North Carolina-sized province.

But the Corps’ success this year in “manhandling the Taliban” in Afghanistan, coupled with Conway’s desire to drive Afghan insurgents into mountain starvation and a host of other military and political conditions, means more Marines could be destined to battle the emerging threat there.

“Young Marines join our Marine Corps to go and fight,” Conway said. “They are doing a very good job of this nation-building business, but it’s our view that if there is a stiffer fight somewhere else ... that’s where we need to be.”

That soon could mean trading tea in Karmah and quiet combat outposts across Fallujah for humping mountainous badlands and protecting the lush river valleys of southern Afghanistan, where al-Qaida, the Taliban and a stream of foreign fighters are spoiling for a fight.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/09/marine_anbar_090708w/%2e