thedrifter
12-18-03, 06:00 AM
New Iraq mission sketched in
Wolfowitz tells Marines to expect 7-month stint
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 17, 2003
CAMP PENDLETON – Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz offered Marines some details about their upcoming mission to Iraq during a day of briefings by senior Marine officials yesterday at Camp Pendleton.
For weeks, the scuttlebutt among troops of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force centered on what units would be going and how long they would be gone once deployed early next year – according to one rumor, for up to a year. The exact nature of their mission was also a subject of conjecture.
Wolfowitz offered some clarity during lunch with a small group of Marines who are returning to Iraq.
One Marine said afterward Wolfowitz told them most of them would be gone for seven months and that there is a plan to have Iraqis do the dangerous jobs now done by U.S. troops as quickly as possible.
"All we as Marines need to know is how long are we going to be over there and when are we going to come home," said Sgt. Robert Foreman, 26, of Chicago, who is waiting until his return from Iraq to get engaged.
"Mr. Wolfowitz said that we should be over there for about seven months and that during that time we'll do what we can do for them and that, eventually, instead of our troops fighting and dying for Iraq, that Iraqis will – if need be – do the fighting and dying."
Wolfowitz arrived at Camp Pendleton early yesterday for briefings by senior leaders of the 1st MEF, including its commander, Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, and Maj. Gen. James Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Division, which is the infantry part of the MEF.
An estimated 20,000 to 25,000 Marines from Camp Pendleton and other units are deploying with the 1st MEF in February and March. Many of these Marines fought their way from Kuwait to Baghdad last spring.
Wolfowitz told reporters after the briefings that the discussions centered on how the Marines might offer the Iraqis small-scale economic help, the importance of understanding their cultural values and beliefs, and what the Pentagon could do to help in the deployment.
The deputy secretary blamed hard-core members of the Baath Party, which Saddam Hussein led, for much of the instability now in Iraq. Wolfowitz said Hussein's capture should remove the "the blanket of fear" in that country.
Wolfowitz said next July 1 will be an important date in the evolution of the new Iraq as a self-governing country.
"As of July, we will no longer be an occupying force and instead support a new Iraqi force," Wolfowitz said.
He said that he hoped this "would change the reality on the ground" and lead to fewer attacks on U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians.
Wolfowitz ate at a Marine chow hall and chose the pasta line, where he loaded up on spaghetti, sausage and vegetables.
Not all the news Wolfowitz shared was appetizing.
"He said that U.S. troops are going to be committed over there for a long time," said Cpl. David Sloyer, 21, a communication technician from A Co., 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, from Portland, Ore.
Foreman had heard enough to start making plans.
"The military is my life," he said. "But I want to add to my life."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20031217-9999_1mi17wolf.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
Wolfowitz tells Marines to expect 7-month stint
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 17, 2003
CAMP PENDLETON – Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz offered Marines some details about their upcoming mission to Iraq during a day of briefings by senior Marine officials yesterday at Camp Pendleton.
For weeks, the scuttlebutt among troops of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force centered on what units would be going and how long they would be gone once deployed early next year – according to one rumor, for up to a year. The exact nature of their mission was also a subject of conjecture.
Wolfowitz offered some clarity during lunch with a small group of Marines who are returning to Iraq.
One Marine said afterward Wolfowitz told them most of them would be gone for seven months and that there is a plan to have Iraqis do the dangerous jobs now done by U.S. troops as quickly as possible.
"All we as Marines need to know is how long are we going to be over there and when are we going to come home," said Sgt. Robert Foreman, 26, of Chicago, who is waiting until his return from Iraq to get engaged.
"Mr. Wolfowitz said that we should be over there for about seven months and that during that time we'll do what we can do for them and that, eventually, instead of our troops fighting and dying for Iraq, that Iraqis will – if need be – do the fighting and dying."
Wolfowitz arrived at Camp Pendleton early yesterday for briefings by senior leaders of the 1st MEF, including its commander, Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, and Maj. Gen. James Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Division, which is the infantry part of the MEF.
An estimated 20,000 to 25,000 Marines from Camp Pendleton and other units are deploying with the 1st MEF in February and March. Many of these Marines fought their way from Kuwait to Baghdad last spring.
Wolfowitz told reporters after the briefings that the discussions centered on how the Marines might offer the Iraqis small-scale economic help, the importance of understanding their cultural values and beliefs, and what the Pentagon could do to help in the deployment.
The deputy secretary blamed hard-core members of the Baath Party, which Saddam Hussein led, for much of the instability now in Iraq. Wolfowitz said Hussein's capture should remove the "the blanket of fear" in that country.
Wolfowitz said next July 1 will be an important date in the evolution of the new Iraq as a self-governing country.
"As of July, we will no longer be an occupying force and instead support a new Iraqi force," Wolfowitz said.
He said that he hoped this "would change the reality on the ground" and lead to fewer attacks on U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians.
Wolfowitz ate at a Marine chow hall and chose the pasta line, where he loaded up on spaghetti, sausage and vegetables.
Not all the news Wolfowitz shared was appetizing.
"He said that U.S. troops are going to be committed over there for a long time," said Cpl. David Sloyer, 21, a communication technician from A Co., 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, from Portland, Ore.
Foreman had heard enough to start making plans.
"The military is my life," he said. "But I want to add to my life."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20031217-9999_1mi17wolf.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: