Marine unit ordered out of Afghanistan

Associated Press ^ | 23 Mar 07 | ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

[leadpenny]

WASHINGTON - Marines accused of shooting and killing civilians after a suicide bombing in Afghanistan are under U.S. investigation, and their entire unit has been ordered to leave the country, officials said Friday.

Army Maj. Gen. Francis H. Kearney III, head of Special Operations Command Central, ordered the unit of about 120 Marines out of Afghanistan and initiated an investigation into the March 4 incident, said Lt. Col. Lou Leto, spokesman at Kearney's command headquarters in Tampa, Fla.

It is highly unusual for any combat unit, either special operations or conventional, to have its mission cut short.

A spokesman for the Marine unit, Maj. Cliff Gilmore, said it is in the process of leaving Afghanistan, but he declined to provide details on the timing and new location, citing a need for security.

In the March 4 incident in Nangahar province, an explosives-rigged minivan crashed into a convoy of Marines that U.S. officials said also came under fire from gunmen. As many as 10 Afghans were killed and 34 wounded as the convoy made an escape. Injured Afghans said the Americans fired on civilian cars and pedestrians as they sped away.

U.S. military officials said militant gunmen shot at Marines and may have caused some of the civilian casualties.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the incident, which was one among several involving U.S. forces in which civilians were killed and injured.

Leto, the spokesman at Special Operations Command Central headquarters, said the Marines, after being ambushed, responded in a way that created "perceptions (that) have really damaged the relationship between the local population and this unit."

Therefore, he said, "the general felt it was best to move them out of that area."

Gilmore said the Marine company would complete its overseas deployment with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is the larger unit it sailed with from Camp Lejeune, N.C., in January, but it will no longer operate in Afghanistan.

Of the four Marine Special Operations Command companies that have been established since the command was created in February 2006, the one ordered out of Afghanistan was the first to deploy abroad, Gilmore said. By September 2008 there are to be nine companies operating as part of two special operations battalions, he said.

For years the Marines resisted creating special operations units, arguing that would run counter to their philosophy of viewing all Marines as elite fighters and not singling out elements as special. But former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld pressed them to establish a separate command — the Marine Special Operations Command — to train and equip forces for the multi-service Special Operations Command.

There are about 25,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, mostly conventional combat forces and support units.

[Marine_Uncle]

I see what you mean. Tis a PC charade.

[mad_as_he$$]

A Bush leave the UN? You jest.

[rbmillerjr]

“the Corps has remained outside the spec ops world, working hard to avoid creating an elite cadre within a force that considers itself already elite.”

There is a big difference between being an elite fighting force and being a special operations unit. The Marines are an elite force but would be better suited to the urban environment in either Afghanistan or Iraq.

[darthyorktown]

heh i wish not

[SevenMinusOne]

Update: (While I don't particularly like any of the military times papers.....)

Lawyers: Evidence backs MarSOC’s claims

By C. Mark Brinkley and Trista Talton - Staff writers Posted : Tuesday May 8, 2007 14:29:35 EDT

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — Photos of shot-up military vehicles and a classified Army intelligence report confirm that a group of spec-ops Marines was attacked with small-arms fire during a March 4 ambush in Afghanistan, according to the Marines’ attorneys.

Those claims directly contradict public statements made by the top special operations officer in the region, who said the Afghans who were killed at the site of the ambush were innocent, and that there was no evidence that members of the Marine special operations company took small-arms fire from Afghans after the Marines were ambushed by a car bomb........

[leadpenny]

Thank you for the update. Is there a link for the full article and which “Times” is it from?

I’ve wondered what the unit has been doing since they were pulled out?

[Chgogal]

George76; Marine_Uncle; bnelson44; SandRat: It seems there is proof that the Marine spec-ops have proof on their side.

I have been keeping an eye/ear open. What I have heard from the MSM was infuriating. On NPR last week their purposefully structured sentences implied that all the civilians were killed by irresponsible crazy spec-ops. This seems ridiculous considering where the IED went off and where the small arms battle ensued. The Al Qaeda/Taliban attack occurred in a market area making civilians the target. Al Qaeda/Taliban succeeded in pinning the blame of all civilians deaths on the spec-ops for various reasons. It sickens me that MSM is ALWAYS duped by Al Qaeda. If it were me, I would simply state Al Qaeda/Taliban attacked the spec-ops/civilians in close quarters and people died due to the callous nature of Al Qaeda/Taliban planning and philosophy. Unfortunately, MSM sides (MSM’s sentence/story structure) with our enemies and seems to prefer the primitive lifestyle of Al Qaeda/Taliban to that of the West. If that were not the case the reporting on the GWOT would be very different.

I still do not understand why the Military bigwigs have made the statements they have made these past couple of weeks. I am not up on the evidence that was collected and I am happy to hear that the Marines’ attorneys are able to prove their case. I strongly believe, considering the local of the ambush, that not all civilian deaths (27 I believe) were caused by our guys. This whole episode leaves much to be desired from Karzai, the Pentagon and MSM.

BTW, any word if AP filed a complaint against Al Qaeda/Taliban? My guess is NOT, once again proving my point that MSM and their die hard followers enable the enemy.

[leadpenny]

Thanks for the link via FreepMail.

[Marine_Uncle]

Surely your feelings are echoed by many of us. This is going to be another Haditha. All the damage will be done, SF individuals will suffer along with their families, and in the final outcome it will be proven our guys did not act outside their ROE.