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US to switch some Iraq Marines to Afghanistan
The top US Marine officer said on Wednesday he could reduce his 25,000-strong force in the former Al Qaida stronghold of Iraq's Anbar province to reinforce military operations against a growing Taliban threat in Afghanistan.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:44 August 28, 2008
Washington: The top US Marine officer said on Wednesday he could reduce his 25,000-strong force in the former Al Qaida stronghold of Iraq's Anbar province to reinforce military operations against a growing Taliban threat in Afghanistan.
Marine Corps Commandant General James Conway told reporters the once-restive province west of Baghdad could be turned over to Iraqi security control within days, thanks to the sharp decline in violence after Sunni tribal leaders switched allegiance from the Al Qaida to the US military.
The Marine Corps Times said on its website that Anbar's security would revert to Iraq next week. Marine officials declined to confirm a specific date due to security concerns.
"The requirement right now in Iraq is much more about nation-building than it is fighting," Conway said at a Pentagon briefing.
"It's our view that if there's a stiffer fight going on someplace else, then that's where we need to be."
US and Nato forces in Afghanistan face an intensifying insurgency marked by escalating attacks and military casualty rates that have helped make Afghanistan a deadlier place than Iraq for US troops in recent months.
Conway said air power would continue to play a primary role despite the risk of civilian casualties that have made Afghans angry with US and Nato forces.
The US has 33,000 troops in Afghanistan, including 3,400 Marines who are due to leave the country by the end of November.
Two Marine regimental combat teams deployed in Iraq are part of a US force of about 146,000 and were sent to Anbar at the height of a Sunni insurgency centered in the province.
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