thedrifter
10-29-07, 07:24 AM
Tight-lipped Conway refutes force-shift reports
By Trista Talton - ttalton@militarytimes.com
Posted : November 05, 2007
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — The Corps’ top officer said reports that the service wants to take over the mission in Afghanistan are “not really true,” but again declined to offer details of the proposed shift in forces.
“I can’t comment on the plan because the plan has not yet gone to the secretary of defense,” Commandant Gen. James Conway said in response to a question posed by an audience member at a Marine Corps Association luncheon here Oct. 24. It was at least the third time in recent weeks that Conway has declined publicly to elaborate on the plan.
“What I can comment on are some of the things that are being said in the open press that are starting to lead some people to the wrong conclusions,” he said.
Conway said the idea that the Corps wants to become the primary force in Afghanistan “could not be further from the truth.”
“It’s been said that we wanted to take over the theater. That’s not really true either,” he said. “There’s no way that Marine units could do theater logistics. This is, in many ways, this is not about Afghanistan. This is about controlling the destiny of Iraq.”
Conway ended his comments about Afghanistan there, saying he was “not at liberty to say anymore at this time.”
The question of the Corps’ possible role in Afghanistan has been tossed around since news reports surfaced Oct. 11 suggesting that Conway was proposing the Corps take over the Afghanistan mission, leaving Iraq to the Army. That force shift would focus a service on each of the two war fronts, according to those early reports.
Asked about the plan that night at a dinner in Washington, Conway said it was premature to talk about it. “If there is an appropriate point in time, if certain things happen, we’ll let you know so we can get it out to the Marines,” he said.
There are about 25,000 Marines in Iraq and about 300 deployed to Afghanistan.
During the luncheon, Conway spoke of the successes in Anbar province, the Corps’ primary area of responsibility in western Iraq. There, Sunni leaders have taken an active role in helping U.S. troops fight the insurgency, he said.
“We probably went into the toughest sector there,” he said. “Nobody would have predicted that we would be where we are today in Al Anbar when we first went in two or three years ago. This is a west-to-east movement. If there’s hope, that hope started in Al Anbar.”
But Conway’s not as optimistic about Afghanistan, where attacks are on the rise and an increasing drug trade helps fund al-Qaida.
“You’ve got the real essence of a long-term insurgency,” he said. “Afghanistan is going to be with us for some time to come, quite frankly, and we’re going to have to turn that one as well, given the opportunity.”
Ellie
By Trista Talton - ttalton@militarytimes.com
Posted : November 05, 2007
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — The Corps’ top officer said reports that the service wants to take over the mission in Afghanistan are “not really true,” but again declined to offer details of the proposed shift in forces.
“I can’t comment on the plan because the plan has not yet gone to the secretary of defense,” Commandant Gen. James Conway said in response to a question posed by an audience member at a Marine Corps Association luncheon here Oct. 24. It was at least the third time in recent weeks that Conway has declined publicly to elaborate on the plan.
“What I can comment on are some of the things that are being said in the open press that are starting to lead some people to the wrong conclusions,” he said.
Conway said the idea that the Corps wants to become the primary force in Afghanistan “could not be further from the truth.”
“It’s been said that we wanted to take over the theater. That’s not really true either,” he said. “There’s no way that Marine units could do theater logistics. This is, in many ways, this is not about Afghanistan. This is about controlling the destiny of Iraq.”
Conway ended his comments about Afghanistan there, saying he was “not at liberty to say anymore at this time.”
The question of the Corps’ possible role in Afghanistan has been tossed around since news reports surfaced Oct. 11 suggesting that Conway was proposing the Corps take over the Afghanistan mission, leaving Iraq to the Army. That force shift would focus a service on each of the two war fronts, according to those early reports.
Asked about the plan that night at a dinner in Washington, Conway said it was premature to talk about it. “If there is an appropriate point in time, if certain things happen, we’ll let you know so we can get it out to the Marines,” he said.
There are about 25,000 Marines in Iraq and about 300 deployed to Afghanistan.
During the luncheon, Conway spoke of the successes in Anbar province, the Corps’ primary area of responsibility in western Iraq. There, Sunni leaders have taken an active role in helping U.S. troops fight the insurgency, he said.
“We probably went into the toughest sector there,” he said. “Nobody would have predicted that we would be where we are today in Al Anbar when we first went in two or three years ago. This is a west-to-east movement. If there’s hope, that hope started in Al Anbar.”
But Conway’s not as optimistic about Afghanistan, where attacks are on the rise and an increasing drug trade helps fund al-Qaida.
“You’ve got the real essence of a long-term insurgency,” he said. “Afghanistan is going to be with us for some time to come, quite frankly, and we’re going to have to turn that one as well, given the opportunity.”
Ellie