Marines looking at sending more to Afghanistan

NCT:

Last fall, Marine Corps Commandant James Conway proposed moving his 25,000 troops in Iraq to Afghanistan, arguing that the fight there better suited the firepower of the service's air and ground task forces.

He may soon get what he asked for, and local troops could well be in the mix.

With the Pentagon reporting growing stability in Iraq and calling for more U.S. troops in Afghanistan to counter a resurgent Taliban and increasing numbers of foreign fighters, there is speculation the Marine Corps soon may have a much larger role in what some call the nation's "other war."

Commanders in Afghanistan, which the U.S. invaded after the 9/11 terror attacks, say they need 10,000 more troops to counter the rising violence.

The sense of urgency was heightened last week when nine U.S. Army troops were killed and 15 wounded when their remote outpost near the Pakistan border was attacked by what officials estimated were about 200 fighters.

The question for Pentagon planners now is where the additional troops will come from this year. Several sources said they believe Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station forces could be among those tapped for duty in 2009.

...

Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland, head of Marine Corp forces throughout the Middle East and commander of the base's 40,000-strong I Marine Expeditionary force, is among the leadership backing a greater presence in Afghanistan.

He made that clear during a recent interview with the North County Times after a May briefing with his command staff at Camp Fallujah in Iraq's Anbar province.

"Whether or not we ... become firmly entrenched in Afghanistan remains to be seen," the general said. "Afghanistan is a great place for Marines, a great place for us to set up and continue to be part of the fight against the terrorist activity in that part of the world."

...

There is more.

If all the forces in Afghanistan were as effective as the Marine unit near Garmser, this war would be in much better shape. Those Marines have kicked the Taliban out of an area of dope production that has been paying for their war effort. It was both a stragtegic and tactical vicotry for our side and it was done with professionalism and minimal casualties. The Marines killed around 400 Taliban in the process and suffered three KIAs.

The Marines brought activity to an area that had been "dominated" by a British softly softly approach. The Taliban appeared to be reeling from the experience.