(Marine Corps Times) Backtalk: The right mission

[unhappycamper]

The right mission
By Josh Gibbs

When the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003, Afghanistan quickly became the forgotten war. It took a back seat to even the most negligible news from the most remote parts of Iraq.

The nation and the military were told again and again that the forefront of the war on terrorism was in Iraq. But at what cost? By focusing the majority of our military efforts there, we have let many key figures in the war on terrorism slip through our fingers. They have taken refuge in Afghanistan, Turkey or Pakistan because we did not commit the resources to effectively pursue them.

Seven years after the U.S. stormed into Afghanistan and drove out the reigning Taliban regime, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, appeared before the House Armed Services Committee and delivered some harsh but sorely needed news: “I am not convinced we are winning in Afghanistan,” he said in September, adding: “I am convinced we can.”

To make that happen, the Corps must assume a larger role there.

Drawing upon the sustained success the Corps has seen in Iraq’s tumultuous Anbar province, Commandant Gen. James Conway has stressed to other senior members of the military community that his Marines would be better suited for operations in Afghanistan. The Corps was not designed to carry out sustained operations, yet the continuous combat in Iraq has forced us to do just that.


Rest of article at: http://marinecorpstimes.com/community/opinion/marine_backtalk_afghanistan_020209/%2e