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| Afghanistan |
| Top general in Afghanistan expels Marines |
| 2007-03-23 |
| The top American general in Afghanistan has expelled a U.S. Marine special operations company for the way the men responded to an ambush March 4, Marine sources said. Maj. Cliff Gilmore, a spokesman for Marine Special Operations Command, confirmed to The Examiner that the company of 120 Marines is redeploying. He said the decision followed an ambush on the company's convoy by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. A second Marine source said the Marines retaliated and some civilians were killed. The action brought an abrupt end to what promised to be a historic deployment. The unit sailed in January from Camp Lejuene, N.C., as the first Marine Corps special operations company sent overseas. The Corps joined U.S. Special Operations Command a year ago. The company is now redeploying to Kuwait after just a few weeks in Afghanistan in what was supposed to be a six-month tour. A Marine officer assigned to special operations said Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, the top U.S. commander, took the extraordinary step of expelling the unit after he consulted with Afghan Prime Minister Hamid Karzai. A spokesman for Eikenberry could not be reached today. Gilmore said, "The unit responded to the ambush and the local population perceptions of that response have damaged the relationship between the local population and the Marine special operations company." |
| Posted by:Chuck Simmins |
| #15 ROE violation. Cannot return fire unless you have a clear target and no risk of harming non-combatants. Great rules: for an F-16C pilot at 30,000 feet; not very workable when you've just sprung an ambush on the ground. |
| Posted by: badanov 2007-03-23 23:05 |
| #14 What Crusader said. Fighting this war bullet by bullet is totally insane, as in suicidally insane. This is the death of a thousand paper cuts. Enough already! Any moral capital that Bush accrued by being bold enough to identify The Axis of Evil is now being squandered fighting a Vietnam-style Politically Correct war. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-03-23 22:36 |
| #13 Notice that the examiner has this article under POLITICS. Seems appropriate to me. |
| Posted by: GK 2007-03-23 19:41 |
| #12 Perhaps we're about a half decade overdue from telling Islamic countries "We're here because you didn't do your own damn job--we're now going to do what needs to be done and you can just sit back and shut the fuck up about it." |
| Posted by: Crusader 2007-03-23 18:40 |
| #11 Perhaps they're needed someplace else. |
| Posted by: mrp 2007-03-23 18:16 |
| #10 Perhaps Happy Gilmore will get reassigned by the real top dog. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-03-23 17:03 |
| #9 The Marines in SOCOM are not your regular grunts, not that there is anything wrong with that. They are all Force Recon and other Spec. Op. trained individuals. Many in the Marine Corps didn't want Marines to be attached to SOCOM in the first place for many reasons. This could be one of them. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. |
| Posted by: Sgt. D.T. 2007-03-23 17:01 |
| #8 they killed the enemy was the problem. you know that is a no no in islamic countries . we must detain them so they can escape and kill more of our troops. (sarcasm) |
| Posted by: sinse 2007-03-23 16:30 |
| #7 My guess is there responded appropriately according to their ROE, however some cilvian got whacked and now they are being offered as the sacrificial lambs.... I CAN tell you that this wasn't their first combat deployment. |
| Posted by: 0369_Grunt 2007-03-23 14:21 |
| #6 My guess is it was more than ROEs .... grunts refusing to merge into a joint services framework, plus inexperience at spec ops. |
| Posted by: Wheating Angereper3174 2007-03-23 13:48 |
| #5 It looks like maybe they responded with a Camp Lejuene Death Blossom. This was the first deployment of a Marine Special Ops unit. Was it also the first combat deployment for the individual Marines? |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2007-03-23 13:27 |
| #4 "The unit responded to the ambush and the local population perceptions of that response have damaged the relationship between the local population and the Marine special operations company." Okaaaaaay - the local population's perceptions are now important. I know, things have changed over the years but for me it is simple. I think our foray into Iraq has shown that war can't be effectively fought by nuance and degree. If we are going to adequately protect our guys in the field it has to be made simple. Such as "Is this a threat?" "Yes" - kill it. "Maybe" - stand ready to kill it. "No" - try to not kill it. Maybe MARHQ will be pissed about the redeployment but I can just about guarantee the grunts are happy to be out of that PC Operation. |
| Posted by: GORT 2007-03-23 13:16 |
| #3 The only incdent I can find reported at the time is this one. I believe this is the ambush where many civilian casulties were claimed. Regardless, it is a most unusual step for command to take. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2007-03-23 13:15 |
| #2 ROE violation. Cannot return fire unless you have a clear target and no risk of harming non-combatants. Or that's how it sounds. If those are the rules and the Marines can't/won't follow them, then .... Of course it all could be a political sop to help Karzai deflect internal dissent. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-03-23 13:09 |
| #1 No doubt Talibunnies were hurt too. |
| Posted by: Icerigger 2007-03-23 13:04 |