thedrifter
12-27-06, 07:14 AM
Marines in Iraq need more time, leader says
By Tony Perry
Los Angeles Times
Posted December 27 2006
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq · U.S. Marines fighting in the deserts of western Iraq have a greater need for extra time than extra Marines, the commandant of the Marine Corps said.
"I fear there are two timelines out there," Gen. James Conway told an audience of some 2,500 troops gathered in a base chapel at Camp Fallujah for a town hall meeting Tuesday. "One is how long it's going to take us to do the job. One is how long the country is going to allow us to do the job. And they're not synching up."
Americans should be willing to give the military more time, he said, telling the assembled Marines, sailors and soldiers that "I think if people stop and consider that premature removal could have a disastrous effect and cause us to have to return, I think they would work with us."
Conway, 58, who was commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force during the assault on Baghdad in 2003 and the battle with insurgents in Fallujah in April 2004, also said that, based on discussions with Marine field commanders, he does not see a need for a temporary surge of additional Marines into Al-Anbar.
Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer, the top Marine in Iraq, has not presented a specific mission that a surge could accomplish, Conway said.
"They could probably use a few more troops but I do not see a surge in a strict sense in terms of battalions," he said.
By Tony Perry
Los Angeles Times
Posted December 27 2006
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq · U.S. Marines fighting in the deserts of western Iraq have a greater need for extra time than extra Marines, the commandant of the Marine Corps said.
"I fear there are two timelines out there," Gen. James Conway told an audience of some 2,500 troops gathered in a base chapel at Camp Fallujah for a town hall meeting Tuesday. "One is how long it's going to take us to do the job. One is how long the country is going to allow us to do the job. And they're not synching up."
Americans should be willing to give the military more time, he said, telling the assembled Marines, sailors and soldiers that "I think if people stop and consider that premature removal could have a disastrous effect and cause us to have to return, I think they would work with us."
Conway, 58, who was commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force during the assault on Baghdad in 2003 and the battle with insurgents in Fallujah in April 2004, also said that, based on discussions with Marine field commanders, he does not see a need for a temporary surge of additional Marines into Al-Anbar.
Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer, the top Marine in Iraq, has not presented a specific mission that a surge could accomplish, Conway said.
"They could probably use a few more troops but I do not see a surge in a strict sense in terms of battalions," he said.